


What If...

by RedsAdmin



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-01
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-01-07 17:30:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 25,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12237453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedsAdmin/pseuds/RedsAdmin
Summary: What if Red never won the title champion and Green remained Champion of Kanto?





	1. Chapter 1

What if Red never beat Green for the title of Pokemon Champion? This would be that story…

Red turned off the television with an exhausted sigh, the news had actually been pretty great but Red couldn’t help but feel a longing. Seeing Green popular, something his best friend always desired, he should be happy. During his youth, chasing after Green, wanting to impress him, Red had begun to realize what he’d been doing. Green had became angrier and more desperate each time Red had beaten him, Red hadn’t intended to hurt his only friend, so he had made sure to give Green his life’s dream. So he had thrown their last battle at the Indigo Plateau. Of course, Pikachu wasn’t happy about purposefully losing against Green, but he had respected Red’s wishes.

And Now, Red had faded into obscurity, most people thought it was Green who had taken down team Rocket and he didn’t go out of his way to tell them that they were wrong either. That was fine with Red, he didn’t want fame, didn’t want to be hassled by reporters or admirers. Green seemed to be loving the lime light, he was always smiling and that light in his eyes always made Red feel that same inspiration and happiness whenever they were kids and Green told him all that he was going to do on his Pokemon adventure. His cellphone vibrated on the couch beside him, drawing him from his thoughts, he picked up the phone to see he got a text from one of Professor Oak’s aides. It appeared that there was an emergency down at the lab and he was needed.

Sighing through his nose, he pushed himself up to his feet and pocketed his phone into his jeans pocket. Moving to the door, he pulled on his lab coat, at least Green’s grandfather had given him a job, even though Samuel Oak had been confused at how Red had lost against Green. Oak had seen Red’s potential towards caring for Pokemon and had hired him on the team after his adventure. Red wasn’t certain if Green even knew about it, his childhood friend was so caught up in traveling, battling other champions in different regions that he likely forgot all about the small place called Pallet Town. Red jogged towards the lab, which looked bigger and more modern ever since Oak’s grandson’s rise to fame. Still though, the town was small, only Daisy and a few others remained.

He stepped through the automatic sliding glass doors to look at the chaotic scene before him with wide red eyes.With Professor Oak gone to Kalos for a professor gathering, Red was left in charge. He thought it would be an easy task, but it seemed that everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. He stared at the little brown blur running about the lab, two of the assistants that had the morning shift were chasing the Pokemon around in a desperate attempt to capture it. Red could only stand there for a moment and take it all in. Papers and books were scattered everywhere on the floor, some even shredded to pieces. Some expensive equipment was tipped over, all because of one brown little eevee.

One of the assistants noticed him and stopped the chase, bending over with his hands on his knees as he panted for breath before he could speak. “Glad you came, Red. That little spitfire won’t settle down! As soon as she came to us through the PC, she went crazy! We need your help.” Red blinked and looked back to the Eevee who had managed to climb on top of a tall bookshelf, out of reach of the other assistant and was in the process of shredding a piece of paper. He’d seen a lot of wild Pokemon come through here. People catching Pokemon to fill their dex but never really bonding with them. Sometimes it was just better to release them back into the wild after the lab workers took in their data.

He moved over to the assistant and tapped her shoulder. Once he gained the woman’s attention, he jerked his head to the side, indicating that he needed some space to work with this Pokemon. Too many people tended to upset freshly caught Pokemon and Red’s calm nature tended to settle them down. Most of the time. The eevee paused and looked down at him, large ears perking up as she seemed to look at him with interest. That was a good sign right? He dug into his many coat’s pockets, pulling out a small candy he used for treats towards Pokemon and slowly offered it up to the small Pokemon. The little nose twitched as she sniffed but perked up at the recognition of a treat. She quickly snapped it up, nearly taking Red’s fingers in the process. With the treat in her mouth, she surprised Red by jumping down and landing on his shoulder, curling about his neck as if familiar with the position.

He raised a hand, stroking the luxuriously soft fur, this was not a freshly caught Pokemon. Judging by the healthy, or maybe not so healthy weight, she was well fed and perfectly groomed. She was obviously well taken care of, so why had her owner put her in the PC? It was possible that whatever her trainer was doing, he couldn’t take her with them so they basically used the labs as a babysitting service. Not that Red minded, he loved taking care of Pokemon, but this one would just need a bit extra care. Pikachu might enjoy some companionship as well. Pikachu enjoyed playing, rough housing and running around and the only Pokemon Red had that was small enough for his house was espeon and he preferred lazing about and remaining neatly groomed.

He pulled out his cellphone, ever since he and Green went their separate ways, Red slowly stopped talking altogether. He’d never been one to talk to anyone outside those he trusted most, like his mother and Green. Now, he just simply used texting as a method of talking, making most people assume he was mute, it was the easier explanation. He sent a message to the one who had texted him in the first place, relaying the message he would be taking care of the eevee at his home while she stayed in their hands. It would be safer that way, seeing the mess she made throwing a tantrum. It was likely rare or had never happened that the eevee was put in the PC, maybe she was having separation anxiety in the form of wanting to get revenge for her trainer putting her away like that..

The aides looked to one another with a face, looking a little concerned, but it hadn’t been the first time Red had taken a Pokemon home to give a little extra care. Red furrowed his brows a little, wondering what the two were keeping from him. He didn’t interact with people often but Oak’s assistants were always nice and shared his passion for studying and caring for Pokemon. Eevee was busy nuzzling her face under Red’s jaw in affection, obviously happy with his presence and it was a bit difficult for him to stare down the two aides when those big ears blocked his line of sight. The woman looked back at Red, she seemed to finally give in under Red’s stare, which wasn’t uncommon, most people could be unnerved by Red’s silent glare.

“Red… That eevee, um, well, she belongs to Professor Oak’s grandson, Green.”


	2. Chapter 2

The past week with Green’s eevee had been great, it was like having a piece of his childhood friend there with him. A glimpse into the private life of the superstar. Eevee was definitely spoiled, having her meals at a certain time, to having multiple groomings and then demanding she sleep on Red’s pillow with him. It was nice, Red had often wondered if Green still treated his Pokemon the same as they had in their youth, but seeing how well taken care of eevee was, his concerns were soothed over. He didn’t know how or why Green had changed, maybe that was just a part of growing up. His pikachu was equally thrilled to have eevee around, though he had learned quickly that eevee wasn’t the rough-housing type and would bite pikachu if he was too out of control for her.

As Red observed her, he noticed she acted quite similar to how he remembered Green, on the surface, she held herself like she was better than everyone else but in fact, she hated to be alone. Whenever his pikachu was around, she would groom him as long as he stayed still, otherwise she would swat and bite until he behaved. It was cute and amusing, something he never wanted to forget. Which lead him to start taking pictures of them with his phone, he knew eevee would eventually go back to Green, so he wanted something to remember her by. However, he felt the desire to show these pictures off, for if they made him smile then maybe it would make someone else smile.

Pokemon had always cheered him up when he felt down, especially after he and Green had gone their separate ways. Loneliness had set in, his life seemed all too quite without Green’s loud voice calling out for him to come outside and play. Pikachu was a great companion, keeping him on track and moving forward when all he wanted to do was go back into the past, when things were much more simple and fun. Red hadn’t been one for social media, his co-workers at the lab continued to hound him to get something like facebook or twitter, but Red hadn’t been interested in it at the time. Now though, he wanted to share pictures, to share what made him happy. However, he didn’t want anyone to know it was him, he didn’t want any attention on him, so he signed up to Twitter under an alias.

The Silent Photographer.

He stopped there, he felt a little nervous as he looked down at eevee and pikachu curled up asleep on his lap, would people even really care? There had to be tons of images of Pokemon online, would people even manage to find his? Were the pictures even that great? His expression shifted to one of stress as his brows furrowed, red eyes staring at the screen as if it would give him the answers. Instead, eevee’s trill brought him from his doubts, she was giving him an annoyed glare, sensing the tension within him. Red gave a breathy little laugh at that look, this was definitely Green’s eevee. How many times had his childhood friend given him that look whenever Red thought he couldn’t do something? He switched over to his camera feature so he could capture that look, which afterwards he received a small bite from the eevee for laughing at her.

Her glare was the first picture he uploaded to his Twitter account.

Once the first picture was uploaded, he couldn’t really stop himself as he began to upload more pictures. He made sure only to pick the best ones and he didn’t put any description. This was about the Pokemon, not about what he thought. Eevee, satisfied with her job well done, settled back down to snuggle up against the sleeping pikachu who hadn’t been in the slightest bit disturbed. Red set his phone on the table beside his couch and picked the two up into his arms, it was time to clean them both up, then himself, and then it would time to fall asleep in bed. It was a routine now and he was glad to have the company, too bad he couldn’t sleep in since he had to head in to work early tomorrow.

 

\-------------

 

The next day, Red’s phone went off, the alarm waking him up with a groan and he reached over to grab his phone and shut the alarm off. He sat up in bed, scratching at his bed hair as he looked blearily down at his phone to check the time. The clock was correct but he noticed he had over a hundred notifications from twitter. Startled, he quickly unlocked his phone and tapped on the Twitter app to check what was going on. A lot of people liked his photos, some even retweeted them, he even received a few comments proclaiming how adorable these two Pokemon were. It made him nervous and panicked and he quickly shut off his phone as if that would make it all go away. He hadn’t expected that much attention, so he decided to ignore it and get ready for work instead.

After doing his morning rituals of cleaning, getting dressed and grabbing breakfast, he headed out towards the lab with eevee and pikachu perched on his shoulders. It was a bit heavy, but he was used to it by now, it was definitely a workout, not that he really needed it. As he entered the lab, he was lucky enough to not be greeted by chaos this time, no flock of pidgey flying around wildly, no upset eevee tearing up his lab reports.He could only hope it stayed like this. Eevee and his pikachu hopped off his shoulders to go play around the lab and the pasture in the back of the lab that kept the larger Pokemon. Red sighed out, wishing he could join them, but first he had to handle the paperwork that stacked up overnight.

He sat down at his desk, booting up his computer, it was quiet this morning and the other assistants wouldn’t be in for another hour or so. Red worked best when he was alone anyways, the silence allowed him to think and not worry about interacting with other people. The other lab assistants had grown to understand that Red didn’t like conversation much, so they tended to leave him be unless it was important and they needed his help. He was just about to open his work email when the door slammed open, making Red jump a little in surprise. No one opened the door that fast and that loudly around here, it was supposed to be a calm paradise for Pokemon who were stuck in a trainer’s PC or a wild Pokemon in need of healing. Whoever it was, he did not really want to confront them.

“Where is she?!”

Frowning at the familiar voice, Red turned around as he needed to see it to believe it and no doubt Green oak was standing in the open door, looking hellbent on something. Red felt his heart beat pick up, suddenly panicking. He hadn’t seen green in over a decade, hadn’t even talked to him. Green had never tried to reach out to him, to find where he was so he assumed his childhood friend had moved on and Red didn’t want to bother him with the past. They weren’t children any more, things had changed and Green had left this little town in the dust along with everyone who lived in it. He could understand Green not talking to his grandfather, he’d seen how Professor Oak had treated his grandson. It was just another reason Red never had the heart to beat Green at the Indigo Plateau, Green needed an escape.

With no one else but Red here at the lab, he couldn’t send them to deal with Green, making him wonder if he still had time to hide. The bookshelf behind him partially obscured Green’s line of sight, so it was a possibility.He turned back and slowly began to try to ease himself down, hiding under the desk didn’t sound like a bad idea. Running away was a cowardly move but how could he face Green? He had no idea how to interact with him now that they were adults, would Green even remember him? He was afraid to know the answer, afraid it wouldn’t be the one he hoped for and couldn’t allow himself to feel crushed like that. However, before he could disappear, Green spotted him and began to storm his way over to Red.

“Yo’, nerd in a labcoat! Don’t think you can hide from me! Where’s eevee!”

Arceus, he was too late, he reached up and rubbed his cheek, good thing he decided to shave this morning, he didn’t want to look like an exhausted washed up Pokemon trainer. Before Red could try to sign anything, Eevee came running up, trilling happily at the sight of Green, Pikachu was running after her and carrying a flower in his mouth. However, when Pikachu noticed Green, his look soured, making Red want to groan. Pikachu had never really got along with Green, it was mostly Red’s fault though. He had confided in his remaining friend how much he missed Green during their League adventure, making Pikachu pissed off at the other trainer for ignoring Red and his feelings. Luckily Green hadn’t understood Pikachu, or was just too caught up in obtaining his dreams, he didn’t stop and consider it.

Green opened his arms, catching Eevee as she lept into his arms, delivering tiny licks as kisses all over her trainer’s face. Red watched in a bit of admiration, hearing Green laugh and smile like that, truly in a state of happiness. It was a sight to behold. Red glanced over at his phone, yearning to take a picture but he didn’t want to risk ruining the moment. A moment he might not ever see again, so he wanted it to last as long as it could. Until Pikachu growled and the snap of sparks from his cheeks drew Green out of his reunion, amber eyes looking down in surprise to see Pikachu there. The yellow rodent was braced on all fours, his fur bristled and the flower he’d been holding was forgotten on the ground as he stared at Green with anger Red had never seen before.

“Pika-punk?” Green managed to say before an electric shock bolted from Pikachu’s body and clashed straight against Green. Eevee had been smart enough to leap away from Green, abandoning her trainer to land on Red’s lap. All hope of a decent greeting towards Green went out the window thanks to his defensive Pokemon.

So much for a peaceful day.


	3. Stir Fry

Red had made a hard choice: either take care of Green at the lab or take him home.

Red had opted for the second option and was still a bit uncertain he made the right choice, it had been forever since the two had seen each other. Bringing Green home might make things awkward but it might also give him the possibility to reconnect with Green. Though he wouldn’t get his hopes up too high, seeing how years without contact had made him a bit jaded when it came to his friendship with Green, if there even still was one. He glanced over his shoulder to look at Green laying on his couch with eevee curled up on top of his stomach with content. Green would be alright since Pikachu hadn’t seriously shocked him, just enough to knock the poor guy out. Now his yellow best friend was curled up on one of the dining chair, glowering at the couch.

He had tried scolding Pikachu for shocking Green like that, but his little friend wouldn’t listen, Pikachu was aggressively protective of Red sometimes and he knew Green was the one who hurt his trainer the most. Red sighed and turned back to his cooking, ever since his mother passed a few years ago, Red had to fend for himself. Luckily technology allowed him to watch and learn from videos on how to cook certain things, but it was never quite like when his mother was teaching him. He could recall when he was a kid, how he would beg his mom to teach him how to make cookies in attempts to impress and make Green happy by sharing cookies that Red made himself. His mother always indulged him, even if she was a hard working single mother, it wasn’t often they got to spend time together.

She always acted kind and motherly towards Green too, knowing that Green had lost his mother and Daisy was left to really take care of her younger brother. Green had adored Red’s mother, so it was a bit of a surprise when Red hadn’t seen Green at her funeral. He wouldn’t lie he felt a bit angry at the time, but it was just one more thing that Red got over. Green likely had a good reason to miss it, he was a busy man and being champion was a demanding job, if Red had become champion he would likely be the one missing his mother’s funeral instead. He pushed around the stir fried udon noodles in the pan, not wanting to burn the food with his distracting thoughts, he was trying to make sure Green had a decent homecooked meal, fairly certain Green likely didn’t cook with his hectic schedule.

Hearing a groan, Red glanced over his shoulder again, seeing Green push himself up into a sit, eevee letting out a sound of complaint from being disturbed and falling onto her trainer’s lap. Red’s heart raced a little, what was he supposed to do now that Green was awake? He didn’t have Green’s number so he couldn’t communicate that way and he wasn’t even sure if Green remembered sign language anymore. On the outside, Red looked cool and calm as always, but on the inside he was a ball of stress, worrying about every detail and thinking he made the wrong choice bringing Green here. Too late now, Green was awake and starting to gather his bearings.

“What the hell.” Green grumbled, causing a growl from Red’s Pikachu, drawing Green’s attention towards the kitchen and Red quickly looked back to the stir fry he was cooking, looking distracted and busy as if he hadn’t noticed Green waking. For a while, only the sizzling in the pan was the noise in the open room, the kitchen, dining room, and living room were all connected in the small house, it was all his mother could afford really and Red didn’t hae a reason to sell it. Red couldn’t stall forever, especially seeing the food was done, so he had to move to the cabinets and pull out a couple of plates, setting a decent enough amount of noodles and chicken onto each plate, trying to drag it out as long as he could, but Green was the first one to break the silence.

“Who are you and what am I doing here?”

Red paused for a moment, it was no surprise Green wouldn’t recognize him from his back alone. He wasn’t exactly a scrawny little boy anymore that followed after Green’s every footstep. He’d hit his growth spurt late, but when he did, he sprouted up quickly. Working with Pokemon at the lab had definitely given him some musculature as well, he was a very hands-on type of lab assistant and sometimes wild Pokemon needed to be strong-armed at times.Sighing, his shoulders slumping a little as he gave up on trying to avoid this conversation. He turned around to face Green finally, red eyes met amber ones as Red locked gazes, refusing to blink or even breathe in anticipation for what might come. At First Green looked confused, then startled. Not a lot of people had red eyes, none had the same ones that seemed to look right through someone and yet be so expressive in moments of weakness.

Green jumped to his feet, making eevee leap to the ground and huff at her trainer’s rude disposal of her from his lap. “Red?” Red’s heart sped up at hearing his name from Green, though his voice wasn’t as higher pitched as it had been when they were kids. Further reminding Red that this Green wasn’t the same one from his childhood, when things were more simple and less complicated. He gave a little nod of confirmation before turning around to pick up the plates and walking over to set them on the table, he glanced over at Green in question before tapping at the table, asking him if he would like to eat. Green still appeared to be in shock as he moved quietly over to the table and dropped down into one of the chairs no occupied by Pikachu. He stared bewildered at Red as Red moved to the fridge to retrieve bottles of water, the only thing he really had.

“Where have you been, Red?” Green finally demanded, causing Red to pause after he placed the bottles on the table, lofting a brow and looking at Green in question. Now Green was curious what he’d been doing all this time? He couldn’t get angry, he chided himself and set down in his chair. He supposed it was a justified question, Red had never reached out to Green either, so he was just as guilty. Before he picked up his chopsticks he signed slowly in short words, in case Green was rusty on his sign language.

‘Work at lab.’

He motioned one hand in the direction of Green’s grandfather’s lab to further specify where he’d been. This entire time. He glanced up at Green, seeing his friend was still staring at him as if he’d seen a ghost. It made Red feel a bit bad, he should’ve sent a letter to Green or something, but he’d just been so scared, even after all these years. He was scared of what might be the truth. What if Green was no longer his friend? No longer cared? Red couldn’t handle that. He was terrible at making friends and Green had been the only one who had gotten close enough to Red that Red had been completely open and trusting towards the other boy. So it hurt, still did, but Red managed.

“You’ve been working at my stubborn ol’ man’s place this entire time? How can you stand him?” Green bit out, it seemed Green’s relations with his grandfather still weren’t great even after all this time. Red sighed again, lifting up a bit of noodles to eat, occupying his hands so he didn’t have to answer Green’s question. Of course, that didn’t stop Green from continuing on with talking. It never had and Red was a bit pleased to know that hadn’t changed. Green filled in the silence that Red created, allowing Red to relax and not feel pressured to join in on the conversation that Green was perfectly capable of having with himself.

“You’ve been the one posting pictures of my eevee, aren’t you?” Green’s eyes focused on Red, making him a bit uncomfortable but it didn’t show as he swallowed his food and took a pull from his water bottle, leaving Green waiting. Red was always slow and methodical in everything he did, the complete opposite of Green’s fast paced, wild lifestyle he still hasn’t grown out of it appeared. Finally Red nodded as he poked around his noodles for a bit of chicken, he couldn’t hide it as his Pikachu had been in a lot of those pictures too, it wouldn’t take a genius to connect the dots so there was no point in lying.

“I, uh, thought someone stole her since the pictures weren’t in the lab where I sent her.” Green actually looked a bit sheepish for once as he looked around the house, recognizing some of the things that had been in the pictures with his eevee. Now that his anger had subsided, maybe Red would be able to see a more rational side of Green, watching his childhood friend begin to eat, the smell of cooked food began to convince Green that eating was more important than talking. Red waited, wanting to see Green’s expression, no one had ate his cooking before so he would like an opinion of someone he figured might still be close to him. Green’s expression looked like he was in heaven after the first bite and began to eat with a bit more earnest, allowing Red to settle a bit in his chair.

He glanced over at his phone resting on the table beside his plate, then over at Green who was busy lifting noodles to his mouth. Casually, Red reached over to pick up his phone, looking as if he was checking his messages before trying to subtly angle his phone so the camera held a good angle of Green eating. Right as he pressed the capture button, Green chose then to look up with a bit of noodles hanging from his mouth, a bit of soy sauce smeared on one corner of his lips all the while looking surprised and confused. However, that didn’t last long as Green suddenly realized what had just happened from the camera shutter sound. He bit off the noodles, letting them fall back to his plate before swallowing the rest quickly as he glared at Red.

“Hey! Delete that right this instant, Red! I’m not playing!”


	4. Smell Ya Later

It was a battle of will power as the two trainers faced off on each end of the table.

Red held his phone to his chest in a protective gesture, unwilling to erase the one picture of Green he had and Green had his livelihood at stake. Green only allowed good pictures of himself to be taken, when he was posing as to not look embarrassing or silly, but he was certain that Red had taken a picture that he couldn’t let spread. Red stared at Green with a determined look he hadn’t felt since he was a child, of course, Green could only inspire such feelings. Seeing Green look at him with challenge in his eyes, it made old feelings rise up and give him a boost of confidence, made him fight for what he wanted. His entire body was tense with anticipation, both sides waiting for the other to give in or make the first move, Red could almost feel the static in the air between their clashing gazes, making his heart race.

Green was the one who broke first, it appeared that his patience was still as short as it had been when they were kids as he launched himself out of his seat to make his way around the table towards Red. Red was just as quick to react, jumping to his feet, nearly knocking his chair over in his move to keep the table between him and Green. His childhood friend glared at him in that anger that he was used to, that fire in his amber eyes that only served to ignite his own flame in response, feeding off Green’s bright and wild emotions. “Give it here, Red!” Green demanded, stretching out his hand as if Red would simply hand over the phone, but Red scowled and simply shook his head in rejection to Green’s demand.

That’s when Green broke out in a run to chase Red down, but Red wasn’t having it as he ran in a circle around the table twice before picking a bigger place to play keep away, the couch would keep Green further out of reach of him. Except, Red had miscalculated Green’s determination to retrieve the phone as the spiked haired male dived over the couch straight at him. Eye widening in a panic, he couldn’t dodge in time, he hadn’t expected such a crazy move on Green’s part. They crashed into the ground, but the battle wasn’t over yet as they began to wrestle, Red stretching his arm out to keep his phone out of reach of Green while his other hand tried to push the other male away. They rolled over the carpet a few times, Red trying to make an escape every time he was on top, but Green’s tenacity dragged him back.

Red hid his phone in his back pocket as Green ended up on top, creating a stalemate as Red’s body was trapped against the floor, leaving no room for Green to reach Red’s back pocket. Amber eyes met red, glaring as they slowly came down from their angry struggling. Red began to realize how close Green’s face was, their lips parted so that their breaths mingled with each pant as they tried to catch their breath. The weight of Green’s body pining Red to the floor, it wasn’t a unusual position, they had wrestled hundreds of times as kids, but right now, they weren’t children. Red’s heart was already hammering in his chest from expending energy in the fight, but now it was beating quickly for a different reason all together. All Green had to do was lean down a few more inches…

Green suddenly shot up to his feet, turning mostly away from Red as he straightened his clothes, trying to gather himself. Red was left bewildered on the floor, his cheeks warmed with the line of thinking he’d been going down. He should’ve known better than to let himself think like that. He’d tried so hard to keep himself in check, to live in a state of denial and ignorance of something that had haunted him for years now. Red pushed himself into a sit, raking his fingers through his hair, pushing the dark brown locks out of his face in a stressed action.He was trying to collect himself, to shove back his imagination and what if’s. He had to face reality, as cold and harsh as it was. He pushed himself up to his feet and dusted himself off, refusing to look at Green and Green was doing the same towards Red, making the moment a little awkward.

“Whatever, keep the stupid picture, but if I find out you posted it online I will beat the snot out of you.” Green warned, refusing to completely acknowledge defeat, as usual. Instead, he moved back to his seat, his food already cool but he began eating it anyways since it occupied his mouth so he didn’t have to talk after such a weird situation. Red returned to his seat, while he enjoyed silence, he felt himself disliking it at the moment. It let his mind wander on things that were better left alone. He’d only seen Green with girls during the celebrity gossip shows, indicating that Green was straight, so Red didn’t stand a chance even if they were close friends. Plus, how could he compete with famous gym leaders and models? He was just a washed up trainer who worked as a lab assistant.

A nobody.

People always said there were more fish in the sea, but putting himself out there was a difficult task he wasn’t certain he wanted to put effort in. He couldn’t even communicate with his co-workers, much less someone in a social setting. The only people who came to the lab were youngsters looking for starter Pokemon, or professors who were so wrapped up in their work that they didn’t notice the people around them. Most people thought he was strange, not giving him a chance to explain he was a mute or even people didn’t want to put in the effort to read text messages or learn sign language. He would feel guilty on putting that sort of strain on others, it was all the more reason why he felt more comfortable in the company of Pokemon. Or Green. The man who still seemed to remember sign language, something he learned as a kid, thinking it was cool to have a way to speak to each other, like a secret language. He had studied it just for Red.

Dinner eventually came to an end have the silence stretched between them, making Red feel further than Green than ever. To distract himself, he stood up and picked up the dishes to take them to the kitchen sink and clean them. He didn’t expect Green to join him at the sink, beginning to help him out by rinsing the plates Red scrubbed with soap. It seemed there was an uneasy truce between them, both trying to forget the little mishap from earlier. It was calming a little, to be doing such a simple chore he wouldn’t have thought twice about until Green started to help, it made Red feel closer to his childhood friend again.The tension in his shoulders relaxed, giving him a break for now until all the dishes were placed in the drying rack. Now Red was faced with another problem, what to do with Green now that dinner was over. He couldn’t simply invite Green to hang out, the guy was surely busy and had a schedule.

“I should get going, I should’ve been at a meeting with Lance an hour ago.” Green said, lingering a bit in the kitchen as if in no rush to leave just yet, making Red wonder why he was stalling. “It was… uh, nice seeing you again, Red. The dinner was great, its been a while since I ate something besides at a restaurant.” Red swallowed a bit, feeling his nerves rise despite his calm exterior expression, he had long ago schooled his face to not be as expressive. His hands raised a little, though hesitated, fumbling a few words as he frowned in concentration on what to say.

‘You can stop by for dinner anytime.’

Smooth, when was Green Oak ever in Pallet Town? This was the first time he’d been here since winning the Champion title. Pallet Town was too small, too out of the way for a celebrity like Green. It was only because Green feared his eevee was stolen that he’d even stopped by. However, his mother taught him to be polite, so he extended the offer anyways, despite not believing Green would ever take him up on it. He looked over at Green, who gave a faint smile as if trying to convince Red that he would. Green walked over to the couch to scoop up the sleeping eevee, who protested sleepily at being disturbed from her beauty rest. Red was reluctant to see her go, he had a great time with her, despite being spoiled, she had a good heart. Green was definitely lucky to have her in his life, he could trust that even though eevee was unevolved and underestimated, she would take care of Green for him.

Green tucked eevee into the front of his jacket, her head poking out of the top as he made his way towards the door. Red held it open for him, allowing his childhood friend to exit first before he moved to stand in the doorway. Green called out his Pidgeot and smoothed a hand over the bird’s well groomed feathers, it appeared eevee wasn’t the only one who received Green’s care. Green paused and turned to look at Red for a moment, looking as if he was struggling to find the right words to say. For a man who could speak, it appeared that even having that ability didn’t make things easy. Green turned away, whatever he was going to say was held back as he climbed up onto his Pidgeot. When he finally spoke, he didn’t look at Red, his voice was too strained for the words he said, as if he couldn’t find the heart to put the truth behind them.

“Smell ya later, loser.”


	5. Alola!

It had been a few weeks since Red had offered Green to visit for dinner and there had been no sign of him, he should’ve known but he couldn’t help but to have some sort of hope he’d see his old friend again. At home, it was quiet without Eevee running around with his Pikachu, even his best friend seemed down and put out from missing Eevee. There was nothing either one of them could do about it but move on like they always did, luckily Red had his work to keep him distracted. His current study was the evolution of Pokemon, not through gaining experience from life type of evolution, but how Pokemon evolved into separate species entirely to adapt to their new surroundings or change in weather. He was currently tending to a deerling, one of the small examples of evolution depending on the seasons themselves. With the autumn weather, the deerling’s fur was a soft orange color. The deerling belonged to one of the trainers who simply sought out to fill their pokedex, leaving the deerling in the PC since he wasn’t slotted in their trainer’s team.

He was in the process of giving the deerling a treat when Professor Oak walked up, he was getting older and older to the point Red worried about him sometimes. The man was too stubborn to retire though and live the rest of his life in relaxation, however, he couldn’t travel like he used to, such drastic changes in weather effected him too harshly so he had to stay in Kanto. If he was required elsewhere, he’d send one of the assistants out, since Red didn’t really like leaving Pallet Town anymore. “Ah, Red, I see you’re doing well in your studies!” Red gave a nod and stood up after ruffling the deerling’s head with a bit of affection. Professor Oak was always kind to him, but he still hadn’t got over how the man had treated Green, but it wasn’t any of his business.

“I need you to do me a favor, Red. I know its asking a lot from you, but you’re the only assistant I have who is knowledgeable on the matter of Pokemon evolution due to habitat change. My cousin studies the Kanto Pokemon living in Alola, but he needs a fresh set of eyes to help his research and I want you to go and help him.”

Red frowned a little, dusting his hands on his white lab coat, his brows furrowing a little. He had heard of Alola, the fact that the Kanto Pokemon were there was strange enough, but to know that they vastly differed from the ones from their home region was curious. Red had to admit he was interested but Alola was quite a distance away, the distance was far too long for his charizard to travel safely across, he already calculated that. Not that he had any intentions on going there, it was a new place, a tourist trap which meant crowds of people. Red didn’t do well with crowds or cramped up spaces, Oak knew that, so he must be pretty desperate to ask Red of all people. Red sighed and rubbed at his cheek, he couldn’t tell Professor Oak no.

“I already bought your ticket, you leave tomorrow so I’ll let you have the rest of the day off to pack your things.” Oak said cheerfully, much to Red’s dismay. He didn’t even have a choice apparently, the old man knew Red wouldn’t say no it seemed. His Pikachu came running up, climbing up to settle on his shoulder, having overheard the conversation and seemed excited about it. To see Pikachu ready for adventure made Red feel a bit bad, all these years he kept Pikachu here in Pallet Town with him while his friend lived for exploring and excitement. Well, he’d get his fill now it seemed, Red wished he could share Pikachu’s enthusiasm.

—————

The trip had been a nightmare for both Red and Pikachu, Red was cramped in an airplane surrounded by strangers, it was oppressive and he had never been in an airplane before. He should’ve taken those anxiety pills Daisy had offered him, but Red stubbornly refused to take medication, he’d been that way since childhood. He had gripped the armrest during the entire trip, he was surprised to find out that he hadn’t put a dent in it from how hard he held onto it. Pikachu didn’t have it better off either, he had to remain in his pokeball the entire trip, making Red feel guilty but Pikachu refused to stay at the Lab and made the decision himself. He was glad that Pikachu would go through his own fears for him, he’d definitely would have to make it up to his little friend once they got out of this hectic airport.

Everything was bright and colorful here as he let pikachu out once they escaped the building, not to mention the weather was noticeably hotter than Kanto’s. He felt uncomfortable in his jeans already but he refused to wear shorts, he wasn’t comfortable exposing a lot of his skin, preferring his loose fitting jeans and t-shirt. He looked around, a little lost as what he was supposed to do, Pikachu wasn’t any help as he was busy looking around, trying to take in as much as he could. He pulled out his cellphone to check his messages, Professor Oak had programmed his cousin’s number into his phone, but Red would be staying at the Hano Grand Resort. Sounded too fancy for Red’s liking but he wasn’t paying for this trip so he couldn’t complain, from the looks of things, he doubted he could afford any of these hotels.

Using the GPS on his phone, he entered the resort’s address and began his walk there, he didn’t like cars, they were too cramped and he had no control over a taxi. Plus, walking would allow him to relax and work out his stiff muscles after a stressful plane ride.Pikachu was busy exclaiming over everything, pointing out various things they hadn’t seen in Kanto or he was waving at excited children in their beach wear. Red chose to ignore them, trying his best not to let his anxieties get the best of him but his stoic, near expressionless face tended to scare the kids off, despite it not being his intention. He was always like that, the young trainers avoiding him, he was the silent, intimidating assistant who stayed off by himself. He liked kids, but he was terrible in dealing with them, especially the loud, excitable ones.

After what seemed like forever, he made it to the hotel, the place didn’t lie in its name as it was in fact Grand. It made Red feel a little overwhelmed in his faded jeans, old shirt, and worn sneakers, but he had reservations he hadn’t paid for. Sighing, he made his way through the front door, the people in the lobby were dressed nicely, a few looked at him strangely but avoided him as he rolled his suitcase after him to the front desk. The receptionist smiled politely, but he could see she looked doubtful due to how ragged he looked. “Hi, welcome to Hano Grand Resort, how may I assist you today?” Red had to give it to her, she remained professional, despite how he knew how uncomfortable she was by having what looked like a bum at her desk. He set his phone on the desk, the screen revealing the receipt and QR code of his reservations. She scanned it, but looked unsure enough that she picked up the phone.

“Professor Oak? Yes, we have someone here with reservations made by you. Yes. Correct. Thank you and have a good day.” Red stared as he waited for the woman to be done with the confirmation call, at least their security was tight. The girl behind the desk began to tap away at the computer screen before retrieving a keycard and handing it to Red. “You’re room is on the third floor, room 305. You have three complimentary meals a day, all you have to do is text the number on the back of the menu in your room what you want and it will be delivered to your door. Thank you for staying at Hano Grand Resort and enjoy your time here.”

Red nodded and tucked the card into his wallet, putting both the wallet and his phone in their designated pockets. He turned around to head towards the elevators when he spotted someone walking through the doors of the Resort. He stopped despite not intending to, it was none other than Green making his way towards the front desk. When his old friend spotted him in turn, amber eyes widened and he nearly stumbled over his own feet. Luckily, the girl at his side was holding on to his arm, allowing him to regain his step. The surprise was quickly covered over by an arrogant grin, one Red recognized all too well. Unlike the dinner a few weeks ago, when Green was relaxed and open, they were in public this time. Which meant Green had to impress, especially when he had a girl with him.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Kanto loser? Are you lost? Only the rich and famous get to stay here.” Green taunted but Red seemed unconcerned by what others would view as bullying. Red knew this was just Green’s way of keeping attention on himself, being cocky and confident. In reality, Red knew Green meant only to ask what Red was doing here, still though it didn’t mean Red wanted to suffer Green’s antics any longer. He just wanted Green to be, well, Green. But it seemed he still hadn’t grown out of his state where he lacked confidence in being himself, afraid people would ignore him, leave him. Red had left Green, but for different reasons, that didn’t make Red feel any better about it.

Pikachu growled, his red cheeks sparking in warning, a flash of concern crossed Green’s face but he stamped it down before anyone other than Red noticed. Red released his suitcase to sign at Green, making the woman who had been laughing lightly at Green’s statement, confused.

‘Here on research business.’

Red stated shortly before grabbing his suitcase again, finally looking over at the woman who was with Green. He couldn’t help but to feel something at the sight of her holding onto Green’s arm like that. He didn’t like the feeling because it was unjust, his mother taught him better than to be jealous over something. Still though, he hated seeing her cling to Green like that, she might be a really nice girl for all Red new. Maybe she made Green happier than Red could, so in turn, Red should be happy about the fact that Green had found someone to love and be loved in turn. He couldn’t think about it any longer, he had enough work and stress on his plate as it was. He didn’t need Green’s presence distracting him, even though he knew it was already a lost cause since he knew Green was here.

“Typical nerd, I would say see you later, but a loser like you could never make it as far as the Battle Tree, only the strongest across the regions can get there and I happen to be the host. The only way you’d see me is if you turn on the TV like all the other washed up trainers.”

Red raised his brows at the news, figuring by the way Green talked that this was like the Elite Four, but bigger? He was interested in seeing it, seeing all the strong trainers battle it out. He wouldn’t mind seeing Green battle again in person, but he had to remember what he was here for. If he did make it to the Battle Tree, Green might get a little suspicious, after all, Red had lost horribly to Green. So he had to keep that up so Green could continue living his dream life. He reached up, adjusting the brim of his cap, falling into the act as if he’d been thoroughly embarrassed by Green’s words before turning away to head towards the elevators.

So much for a stress-free vacation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Green is still a jerk. But Red still loves him.


	6. Eevee Bites Back.

It was a nice day out, perfect for going to the beach. However, for Red this was work, but at least he enjoyed his work as he waded out of the water and pulled off his goggles. He had been snorkeling half the day, examining the water-type Pokemon that had come from Kanto. While there was no visible difference in them, there had been differences in how they lived in these warmer waters. He always got to see the native wildlife as well, making the day all in all pretty good. He raked his fingers through his dark hair, pushing it out of his face as he made his way onto the beach where his Pikachu was building a sandcastle, his little friend was quite the artist and didn’t exactly like swimming. He was about to head to pick Pikachu up so they could leave when he heard something trilling quite happily and loudly and heading in his direction. Confused, he turned his head to look at the source, surprised to see Eevee running full speed in his direction.

Red couldn’t help but to give his subtle little smile at seeing Eevee, his Pikachu’s ears perking up and he lifted a paw to wave eagerly at Eevee while calling back. Red soon realized though that Eevee wasn’t alone, Green was chasing after her, looking like a concerned parent chasing after their runaway kid, calling Eevee’s name out in vain. Eevee wasn’t listening to her trainer as she ran towards Red, leaping off the sand and into Red’s arms, surprising the former Kanto trainer. He gave the brown furred head a gentle, affectionate scratch as Green came running up finally, panting and out of breath. Red watched as Green doubled over, struggling to regain his breath before Red. Patient as always, Red took the time to dote on Eevee and Pikachu climbed up his trainer to join in on the reuniting. Finally, Green took a deep breath and straightened himself up, amber eyes finally taking in the sight of the man before him. Red was still in his Pikachu themed swim trucks, revealing that under all his baggy, comfortable clothes that he appeared to work out daily. Red wasn’t a slouch, if he trained his Pokemon to be fit, then he would do the same. There were a faint few scars on his body, mostly from dealing with wild Pokemon.

While he’d been at the beach, Red had been oblivious of other people staring at him. When he got into focus mode, the world around him disappeared and all that was left was the Pokemon he studied and bonded with. When Green turned his head and cleared his throat, Red tilted his head and raised a brow in question. From the red on those cheeks it appeared Green had forgotten to put on sunscreen which was typical. Green wasn’t much one for planning, leaving Red in their childhood to be on the side of caution. After a moment, Green finally looked at Red and spoke.

“Eevee, come here! What’s gotten into you, I’m supposed to be at the Battle Tree in five minutes and you’re going to make me late!” Red frowned and looked down at Eevee in his arms, she gave Green a look as if she could care less about the Battle Tree. Which was probably accurate, Red had never seen Green actually use Eevee in battle, she seemed more like a pampered princess. Red gave Eevee one last pet before reluctantly handing her over to Green, Green sighed and held her against his chest, scratching her under her chin which seemed to settle her. Now Green’s attention turned to Red, making red shift his weight from one leg to the other and fold his empty arms over his chest. Pikachu was perched on one of his shoulders, glaring angrily at Green as static crackled from his red cheeks.

“I didn’t expect to see you here, loser.” Green said, trying to work up a sour tone to his voice, making Red want to sigh and roll his eyes as Green was putting up this act again. He restrained himself, just barely. “I didn’t know they let trash out here on the be- OW!” Green yelped, interrupting his insult when Eevee had sank her teeth into Green’s hand that had been petting under her chin, hard enough to draw blood. Green looked startled and betrayed as he stared down at his Eevee who seemed to let out a little ‘hmph’ before jumping out of his arms and into Red’s. She closed her eyes and turned her nose up at Green, leaving her trainer looking completely baffled by this turn of events. Eevee was his best friend and now she was choosing Red over him?

Red transferred Eevee to one arm, rubbing his free palm against his jaw, knowing this wasn’t any good. Green looked hurt for a moment, something Red had seen before when Professor Oak had praised Red over Green so many times before. Red wondered if the old man knew he was creating a damaged grandson, probably not since the professor was still wrapped up in Pokemon. Though, Red couldn’t help but to feel a bit amused that even Eevee wasn’t tolerating Green’s attitude. Something had to change, Red had thought Green would be happy with this life and yet, Green was still the same damaged boy as before. No, he was even worse and Red couldn’t help but to feel bad for his old friend. He wasn’t sure how he could fix it or if it was even his right to do so.

Reaching down, Red pulled his phone out of his yellow bag he left beside Pikachu’s sandcastle. With one hand, he used his thumb to type out a message and held the phone to show Green.

'I’ll watch over Eevee today while you’re at work. When you’re done, pick her up at room 305.’

Green was still nursing his hand, putting it to his mouth on instinct to try to soothe away the pain and clean the blood. “Fine, I guess its better than leaving her at home alone.” He relented, at least Green knew that Red would take care of any Pokemon, no matter who they belonged to. Green reached out to give Eevee a pet, but she snapped her tiny jaws at him in warning. Green yanked his hand back before he received more wounds, he quickly covered up his hurt with that stubborn anger once more. “I’ll be there at five to pick her up.” He snapped before walking down the beach a little before calling out his Pidgeot, he didn’t even say goodbye before flying off and leaving Red with one irritable Eevee.

 

\-----------------

 

Green was a no show, making Red worry. Had something happened? There was no way Green would forget to pick up Eevee, he could tell that he loved her, Eevee was likely the only one he likely showed any true emotions for. Maybe he was more beat up about Eevee’s rejection than he first thought, Red should’ve gotten Green’s phone number before he left. Red paced around in his hotel room, wearing down the nice carpet in his concern. Pikachu and Eevee were curled up in the center of his bed, watching Red walk back and forth. Maybe he should go out looking for Green? But then what if he missed Green if he stopped by while Red was out? He glanced over at the clock, it was one in the morning and Red by all rights should be asleep by now. Red usually kept a tight schedule and now it was ruined because of Green. He couldn’t help but to feel a little irritable about this, while he could stand for Green to ignore and push him aside, he wouldn’t allow it to happen to Eevee. She deserved more.

At the knock on his door, Red’s head snapped up in alert, looking over at the door as his heart picked up. What was he going to say to Green, would he finally give Green a piece of his mind? Eevee couldn’t communicate so someone had to on her behalf. Red couldn’t help but to feel a little nervous, but he moved over to the door anyways. Opening it, Red expected to face Green with steel in his spine, instead he was caught by surprise. Green was leaning against the door frame, at first Red thought something was wrong until the scent hit him. His nose wrinkled as the fumes of alcohol coming off Green were almost enough to get Red drunk off the smell alone. So that was what Green had been doing all night. Red leaned out to look down the empty hallway with a frown, Green was alone and drunk. He didn’t realize Green could be so stupid, anything could’ve happened to him and no one would’ve known.

“Are you gonna’ stand there all night or are you gonna invite me in?” Green’s slurred voice made Red scowl deepen further, he wanted to turn Green away, he wasn’t currently fit to take Eevee home at this rate. However, Red didn’t want something to happen to Green either. So, with a sigh, he half-dragged half-carried Green’s uncoordinated form into his hotel room and closed the door. When Green tripped over his own feet and stumbled, Red caught him by the arms, nearly busting his nose against Green’s forehead. Green tilted his head up and met Red’s concerned gaze, though that concern turned a bit guarded and confused. Green’s face was too close yet again, close enough that Red could see the very faint freckles that were sprinkled on his drunkenly flushed cheeks. Red’s breath caught in his throat, Green’s eyes were looking at him without those layers he hid himself behind.

Red was about to pull away, it was too dangerous and Green was drunk. Before he could though, Green leaned up with sudden aggression and shove his lips against Red’s. The kiss was sloppy and desperate, Red pressed his lips in a thin line, refusing to give in to the idea of kissing Green. He wouldn’t deny the fact he had thought about what it would be like to kiss Green, but not like this. Not when the stench of alcohol reminded him that Green’s control had slipped. It hurt to refuse Green when the man he painfully loved was kissing him, but he wouldn’t accept this cheap affection. Red wouldn’t let Green use the excuse of alcohol, Red could take Green’s abusive words but he wasn’t going to let his childhood friend play with his feelings like this.

So this time, it was Red who pushed Green away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Took yesterday off to hang out with a friend. 
> 
> Get your shit together Green.


	7. Chapter 7

Red pushed Green away from him by the hands on his old friend’s arms, holding him at a distance to keep Green from trying to kiss him again. Everything about this situation was wrong and it was not the way he envisioned his first kiss would go like. It was supposed to be romantic and have great meaning, where he would admit his feelings towards Green and Green would reciprocate. Not Green reeking of alcohol and bad decisions. Red scowled, making his expression serious as he felt like reprimanding Green, but when he caught sight of Green’s face finally, all his anger deflated almost instantly. He was still upset and hurt, but when faced with this, Red knew his weakness.

Green was crying.

It was a rare sight, one Red had only seen once or twice in his childhood whenever Green had a bad dream. Late at night in the darkness so Red wouldn’t be able to see Green’s lapse in strength. Seeing him cry as an adult wasn’t any better, the light from the lamp prevented Green from hiding his tears now. The way they watered his hazel eyes and Red hated to admit he found Green beautiful in this moment. Even though his friend was drunk and crying his eyes out, the emotion he could see in those amber depths was raw and unguarded. Red wanted that, wanted Green to look at him without his usual guards up. He just wanted the real Green, but that didn’t mean he was going to accept using alcohol as a form to get what he wanted.

It was everything or nothing, Red would accept no less.

Still though, he didn’t have the heart to push Green away as the other male looked so vulnerable and flighty, as if any moment he’d run away after being rejected. Green would thank him tomorrow, or not considering he’d likely fall back to old habits again.Red pulled Green close, wrapping his arms about his friend to hug him close. He wouldn’t kiss, but hugging was just fine to comfort Green. It made him wonder if Green ever cried in front of anyone else before, if they would hold him with silent care like Red did. Instead of going to his own room where he assumed Green’s lady of the hour was, he had stumbled to Red’s room. He didn’t want to think too much into it, but he was just glad that he could be there for Green, he just wished he could be there more often.

As Green quaked with silent sobs, Red stroked his back, letting the other man let it all out. Red knew of Green’s habit of keeping everything in, it wasn’t healthy so he wasn’t about to interrupt this moment. Already he could feel the tears soak in his red and white shirt, wondering why Green of all people was crying for. Red had assumed Green was happy, his friend had all his dreams come true. He was famous, had the attention of many, people admired and respected him. He was an idol to so many, maybe Red wasn’t looking hard enough. It made him feel like a terrible friend for missing the fact that Green was suffering over something. He lifted a hand, curling a light brown spike of hair around his fingers, watching the way the silky strands brushed over his skin. He didn’t know if he’d ever get the chance to touch Green like this again, so he allowed himself to be a little indulgent.

Eventually, Green was slumped against him heavily, he had stopped shaking with his hard crying, leading Red to believe he passed out finally. Slowly, Red began to half carry, half drag Green over to the only bed in the room. Eevee and Pikachu made room for Green as Red eased him down onto the bed, it was when Red was pulling to covers up over Green that he noticed his old friend was watching him with dry, red-rimmed eyes. Red hesitated a moment, trying to figure out what he should say or do. He had a thousand questions to ask Green but he would feel guilty about taking advantage of Green’s current state. It was wrong to pry when Green was this exposed, he didn’t want his friend to regret it later and hate Red for it.

“Why?” Was all Green asked as he stared up in confusion, Red glanced away, unable to look into the very eyes that haunted his dreams. Now he would be haunted by the memory of Green crying in front of him, he wasn’t certain if he could take much more of this. He had thought meeting up with Green again would be nice, but it was only making his yearning for something he couldn’t have even worse. Red raised his hands, about to sign something but stopping himself, hand gestures wouldn’t get his feelings across. Red licked at his slightly chapped lips before swallowing roughly. After so many years, he finally broke his silence. His voice was low, soft, and a bit scratchy from lack of use.

“Because… I love you too much.”

 

\-----------

 

The next morning, Red was at his desk working on his latest research paper on the Kanto water Pokemon here in Alola. Green was still asleep in his bed, having passed out after Red had admitted his feelings towards him. Red was almost certain Green wouldn’t remember it, torn between wanting Green to forget or to remember. He’d been so stressed over it, he couldn’t sleep. Instead, he stayed up the rest of the morning to work on his research. He only stopped to go downstairs and grab some coffee and breakfast, also grabbing a bottle of water and aspirin for Green. Red didn’t know much about drinking, but he’d overheard and seen enough on television to know that after getting drunk one typically had a hangover. The coffee didn’t help ease Red’s nerves though, only served to make them worse since he wasn’t a coffee drinker.

He leaned his elbows on the desk, stopping his typing to rub at his tired eyes. What the hell had he been thinking? He shouldn’t have said anything, but having Green kiss him like that had thrown him for a loop. Did Green really feel something towards him? Or was the alcohol making Green have bad decisions? A low groan filled the room, but it wasn’t from Red. Green was slowly starting to wake from the sounds of it, making Red tense. The hour of judgement was upon him and Red wasn’t ready in the slightest. He glanced at the door, wondering if it wasn’t too cowardly to bail while he had the chance. He didn’t want to face Green after last night, afraid he had just screwed up any hope that he could at least be friends again with Green.

“…The hell… What’re you doing in my room, Red?”

Too late to run. Red couldn’t stall any longer as he turned to look over at Green. He paused at the sight of Green sitting up in his bed, his silky black shirt wrinkled and that brown hair a complete mess. Despite the soured and pained look on Green’s face, Red’s breath caught in his throat. When Red didn’t answer him right away, Green’s glare turned harder. Quickly, with a faint tint to his cheeks, Red raised up his hands to answer.

‘This is my room. Do you not remember last night?’

From the panicked expression on Green’s face, Red assumed not. Green’s hands reached to check to see if he had all his clothes on, Red couldn’t help but to feel a bit insulted at the fact Green thought Red would do that to him. Red looked away with a scowl and knitted brows, making the point know that he was upset that Green thought he’d have sex with a drunk guy.Green looked around the room to confirm that this was Red’s room after confirming all his clothes were on except for his sandals. Once Green spotted the bottle of water and aspirin on the bed stand, he immediately dove for it. Tossing a couple of pills into his mouth, he washed out the taste of alcohol and bad breathe down with water.

“Last thing I remember was having a good time at the tiki bar.” Green admitted, then it seemed to dawn on him that he’d forgotten about Eevee. In a panic, he jumped to his feet, Red could see he immediately regretted it as a hand flew to his temple. “Eevee?!” He called out with strain, the brown fox Pokemon lifted her head from resting on Red’s lap. She seemed to feel sorry enough for her trainer that she jumped down and strolled over to Green. Green crouched down, but he lost his balance and fell back into a sit. Eevee took the opportunity to jump onto his lap and bump the top of her head under his chin affectionately. Green seemed relieved by her forgiveness and Red watched with a softening gaze. However, now that Green was sober, Red needed some answers.

'Why were you drinking?’

Blunt as always but Red now held some concern for his childhood friend after last night. Green had responsibilities and he couldn’t just get drunk like that. At least not alone and not telling Red so he wouldn’t worry. Green hadn’t even thought about Eevee and it was starting to remind Red of their Pokemon adventure all over again. Green seemed to find something interesting on the wall as he refused to meet Red’s gaze, his hand absently petting Eevee. Red was about to press for answers again, but Green finally gave in.

“You damn well know why.” Green groused, sounding like a sulky kid again, reluctant to admit his true feelings. Red tapped his fingers on the desk for a moment, implying he was waiting for Green to elaborate because Red wasn’t going to take that as an answer. He’d been fine with Green acting like a jerk when Red had thought he was happy with life, but finding out something was wrong had put Red on edge a little. He needed to know, for his own peace of mind. “I was pissed that Eevee chose you over me, just like everyone else did!” Green shouted, getting angry at having been put on the spot. Eevee growled in annoyance at such shouting, puffing up a little. Even Pikachu who had been laying on the desk seemed to grown upset and defensive.

Even after all these years of getting everyone’s admiration towards him, Green still wasn’t satisfied. Green had everything except his grandfather’s approval and love, that Red could understand why Green was upset over. However, Eevee had just reasons to be upset with Green and it was a shame that her trainer couldn’t understand her. Red rubbed his jaw in thought, he couldn’t simply tell Green that Eevee just wanted him to stop being a jerk.Green would likely just get more upset and angry at having his flaws pointed out to him. If Green thought no one would choose him for being who he really was, then that meant Green didn’t remember what Red had admitted last night. If only he could get Green to look past his own insecurities to see that someone would pick Green, that someone had been there the entire time waiting.

'Battle me. Only use Eevee and I’ll use Pikachu.’


	8. Chapter 8

The beach was a perfect place for a battle, the sun was already bright as it neared noontime. Red might be tired from lack of sleep but he could feel a certain sort of excitement stir within him. It had been far too long since he had actually faced off against someone in a battle, but more importantly, he was facing off against Green. Battles had been nice against others, but something about going against his childhood friend made it better, made his heart beat faster as he had everything to prove. He didn’t know why he challenged Green to a battle, maybe he was just acting on impulse from lack of sleep combined with happened last night. He knew Eevee wasn’t a battle ready Pokemon, but Eevee knew Green better than any of his other Pokemon. Battling Eevee might allow Red to truly see what Green was made of after all these years.

Green stood some distance away, wearing sunglasses to block out the sun. Maybe Red should’ve waited until Green had recovered from his hangover, but he couldn’t help but to feel like it served him right for worrying Red so much last night. Pikachu stood before Red, looking a bit torn about this battle, he wanted to beat Green but he didn’t exactly want to fight Eevee. Which meant Pikachu would likely take it easy on the brown fox, or at least Red hoped so. Eevee looked determined, her fur bristled and ready for a fight. Red couldn’t help but to admire that about her, despite all the odds stacked against her, she was ready to give it her all. Red glanced up at Green who looked concerned and worried, he had complained the whole way here about not using Eevee and ended up annoying his favored Pokemon. Like her trainer, Eevee didn’t appreciate someone telling her she wasn’t good enough and now was far too stubborn to listen to Green.

For a moment, neither trainer moved, Red judging Green and Green feeling uneasy about using Eevee in battle still, too hesitant to command her to attack. It would appear Red would have to make the first move to force Green to battle. Red made a gesture with his hand, indicating for Pikachu to attack. His little yellow friend darted forward. foregoing his stronger electric moves for more basic attacks so he wouldn’t damage Eevee too much. A quick attack would be good enough as Pikachu dashed side to side in a blur of yellow, making it difficult for Eevee to track. Before she could attack, Pikachu slammed into her from the side, he sent her rolling over the sand from the force of the blow. Green cried out in surprise and made a move to step forward to help Eevee, however, she only glared at him and climbed back onto her feet.

Pikachu waited for her to regain her balance before attacking again, going for another quick attack but Eevee was ready this time. She swept her fluffy tail in front of the sand before her, sending the sand forward straight into Pikachu. Pikachu reeled back a little in surprise as the sand got in his eyes, making them water but he wasn’t about to let that stop him. He gave himself a shake to rid his yellow fur of sand and turned to see Eevee running towards him for a tackle, but she wasn’t as fast as Pikachu who quickly turned against her. He jumped to the side, making her tackle miss and she stumbled a bit, making her an easy target despite Pikachu being a bit blinded from the sand attack. Pikachu slammed his head into her side, sending her careening over the beach once more. Pikachu was already readying himself for another attack, but it appeared Green couldn’t handle it any more.

With a flash of red light, Pikachu’s vision was suddenly blocked by orange, black, and cream fur. Red’s scowl deepened when Green called out his Arcanine, disappointed that he would have so little faith in his Eevee that he felt the need to protect her when she was perfectly capable of handling herself. Red turned his steady gaze onto Green, he looked a combination of pissed off and concerned. He could share the last sentiment, it wasn’t like Red wanted to hurt Eevee but everyone deserved a chance to prove themselves.Red gestured towards his pikachu, who made a ‘harrumph sound at the Arcanine and made his way back to his trainer. Red was done with Green, but the other male seemed to take Red’s withdrawal as a retreat.

“Running when you face a real challenge? Hah, guess you know when you’re outmatched. Once a loser, always a loser.” Red sighed out and shook his head a little at Green’s taunt. Red reached down to pick Pikachu up, but while Red was immune to Green’s jabs, Pikachu seemed to have had enough. Before Red could pick him up, Pikachu darted away from him, sparks flying from his cheeks in agitation. Electricity coursed over yellow fur as he darted forward. Green noticed the charging Pikachu, but it was too late to call out a command to his Arcanine, the canine Pokemon was trained to move on command but not make his own decisions in battle, not having a strong enough bond with his trainer to know instinctively what he should do in this situation.

Pikachu slammed into the Arcanine who was a giant compared to him, but he held no fear, no restraint in his wild Volt Tackle. Arcanine howled in pain as electricity coursed through him, making him crash into the sandy beach, nearly crushing Eevee in the process. Pikachu jumped back, landing on his feet before Red who looked even more upset at his Pikachu. Pikachu looked scuffed, taking recoil from such a careless attack, but the Arcanine was not getting up after that. Red’s gaze shifted up to look at Green, if the guy looked angry before, he was pissed now, especially when a crowd was starting to form on the beach. Everyone knew who Green was, to defeat him was a feat in itself, so to see some unknown man one hit knock out his Arcanine, it was a sight to behold. Red began to feel a bit of anxiety creep up his spine as he peered under the brim of his hat at the people holding up their phones, likely filming or taking pictures of what was happening.

This wasn’t good at all, Red had been so careful to give Green what he desired, but Pikachu’s pride in himself and in Red wouldn’t allow this to go on any longer. Red tried to gesture his Pikachu back to him, but the yellow rodent ignored him completely with his scuffed fur bristling. He knew Pikachu couldn’t take another hit, but then again Pikachu was quicker than most Pokemon. Green called back Arcanine to his pokeball, it had been a long time since he had seen such rage in those hazel eyes, it made Red want to step back. Battling was supposed to be fun, to gain each others’ respect. When they had first started out on their adventures, Red loved battling Green, doing his best to impress his friend. Now though, this wasn’t fun, this battle was meaningless. What would winning prove? He knew it would destroy Green, but Red couldn’t see himself being able to walk away now.

Green retrieved another pokeball from the strap of his backpack, tossing it out to call out Alakazam. The Pokemon seemed to be a bit confused by his surroundings until he noticed a familiar Pikachu and his trainer. He looked a bit concerned by this sudden predicament, glancing over at Green to see if his trainer actually wanted to do this. Green, however, paid no mind and pointed at Red’s pikachu, calling out an order. “Alakazam, psychic!” Alakazam seemed to hesitated at Green’s ire, which cost him and Pikachu. As Alakazam’s eyes began to glow with boosting up his psychic power, Pikachu was already on him with a furious Volt Tackle once more. Both the psychic type and electric type slammed into the beach, kicking up sand and debris everywhere. The onlookers cried out and scampered back to avoid getting toppled over by the Pokemon.

Twin red flashes jolted out as both Red and Green withdrew their fainted Pokemon, with Pikachu down from recoil. Red could back out and apologize for his Pokemon’s disobedience, but as he looked around at all the eyes on them, those chances deteriorated. Red had taken out two of Green’s Pokemon, his pride would be bruised and he would be determined to crush Red. Red could pull out the old trick from before, to just let Green win again. Red was thinking about which route he should choose, had Green not been drunk and crying last night, he would’ve let this slide. Knowing that his friend was happy despite Red’s efforts, Red had to try something new. He wanted the old Green back, before this adventure, so maybe he was acting too much based on his feelings.

So when Green sent out his Machamp, Red was right on his heels with tossing out his Charizard, the flying/fire type roared, spewing fire in his excitement to be in a battle once more. When his eyes landed on who he was facing, excitement made his wings stretch out, causing sand to swirl about his clawed feet. Within an instant, Charizard was airborne, out of reach from the physical attacker. Red looked a bit grim under his hat, he didn’t seem to be enjoying the battle in the slightest. Charizard dived from the sky, the air visibly slicing over his wings as he headed straight for the Machamp. Charizard miscalculated Machamp’s reach though so when he went to arch up, Machamp jabbed out, slamming one purple covered fist right into Charizard’s gut. The orange fire lizard roared in anger and lashed out with his wings. A Air Slash slammed into Machamp, making him fall head over heels backwards.

Charizard winced as he landed, the poison spreading out over his cream toned scales, slowly sapping his health away. It seemed Green and his Pokemon were underestimating Red, he didn’t blame them. With Green’s boasting and previous defeat against Red, by all rights they shouldn’t be taken out so quick and effortlessly by Red’s Pokemon. Green cursed angrily as he had to retrieve his Machamp, from the flushed color of his face, Red knew this was getting to him. The gasps and murmurs of the crowd, the humiliation. It wasn’t something Red wished on Green, but his friend brought this on himself. Red waited as Green soon called out his Gyarados, the sea serpent roaring out louder than Red’s Charizard. However, neither Red nor Charizard seemed to hesitated, despite all the odds.

Charizard soared up into the sky again to face off against Gyarados, the typing was against Charizard, but Red was sure he could at least chip off some health on Gyarados beforehand. Charizard whipped up his wings, attacking first with another Air Slash. The blade of air whipped across the Gyarados’s face, but it only seemed to make him angrier as it roared, flailing about. People screamed in a panic, suddenly giving the Gyarados more space. In the middle of the coils, Green remained standing, confident and just as pissed off as his Gyarados. The water/flying type lashed out his tail, sending a wave of water crashing into Charizard, sending the fire type slamming into the ground, the fire on the tip of his tail sputtering dangerously low from the Aqua Tail. Red quickly called Charizard back, rubbing his thumb apologetically over the ball.

Next came Lapras, without Pikachu, he didn’t have any typings that would go against Gyarados, but he trusted that Lapras could handle the other water type. The fight between them was rough, but Lapras managed to tank the hits fairly decently, in the end it was Green who had to retrieve his Pokemon. From there he changed to Exeggutor, but thankfully Red’s Lapras managed to out speed it and deliver a devastating Ice Shard. This left Green with only one Pokemon left, Aerodactyl. Green was lucky enough to land a rockslide on Lapras before the water/ice type could retaliate, knocking out what health Lapras had left. However, Red still had several more Pokemon than Green, while that didn’t guarantee victory, Red already knew he could win.

With a flick of his wrist, Red sent out his Snorlax, the ground shaking as the normal type landed on the sand. Aerodactyl was quick to attack the slower Pokemon, the iron head slamming into the Snorlax’s stomach but the attack had brought the fossil Pokemon close enough for Snorlax to grab. With a groan of Effort, Snorlax stood up, hugging the struggling rock/flying type in its grasp. With a hefty jump into the air, Snorlax turned to put Aerodactyl between him and the ground. The Snorlax’s stomach held a sheen of steel to it before crushing the light-weight Aerodactyl beneath him with a Heavy Slam. With that, the battle was over, Red retrieved Snorlax to his ball as Aerodactyl retreated into a stunned Green’s. Everything was silent, too silent for even Red.

Red walked over the sand, stopping to stand in front of Green. He placed a hand on Green’s shoulder, waking his childhood friend from his daze. Green shook his head in denial and yanked his body away from Red’s touch as if it had burned him. “How?!” Red tilted his head at the question shouted at him, he glanced around at the collection of people. This wasn’t the time or place for Green to start throwing a fit.Red reached out again, this time his grip was firm around Green’s upper arm. He began to drag Green from the beach, Green seemed surprised at Red’s strength and the audacity he had to force him along.

It was about time that he and Green had a long talk.


	9. Happiness

Once they arrived back in Red’s room, Green yanked his arm out of Red’s grasp. The man was furious and for a good reason, Red had thoroughly embarrassed him. Red hadn’t meant to, but he’d been so caught up in the heat of the battle and the longing to prove himself to Green that he hadn’t managed to stop himself. Now he had to face the consequences, whatever those might be. A thousands endings had ran through his head on his way back, none of them good. He wouldn’t doubt that the videos and pictures that had been taken by the crowd were already viral across the internet. It wasn’t like back when they were kids, where things could spread so quickly or on such a grand scale. In a matter of minutes, Red had crushed Green’s image.

Red moved over to the sliding glass door that lead to his small balcony, peering through the vertical blinds out at the ocean. He wished he could be anywhere but here, back at his lab where he was just a forgotten nobody. He could only hope no one could dig up information on him, back in his youth, records were a bit sketchy and the only pictures he had were the Polaroids his mother had taken of him. Nothing had been digital at the time, so he doubted anyone would recognize him outside of Pallet Town. He was very different in appearance from when he was a kid, he’d been shorter, scrawnier, a waif of a boy. Not the filled out man he was today, his muscles defined from years of hard work dealing with Pokemon.

Silence reined in the room, making Red a little nervous as Green was usually one to be loud. He expected yelling, shout, and swearing but all he received was silence. Unnerved, he looked over his shoulder to spy Green sitting on the edge of the bed in shock. Red fought the impulse to reach out and touch Green, to try to comfort his long lost friend. If he’d been unsure about their friendship before, Red was certain it was gone now. Red usually wasn’t so negative about things, but when it came to Green he was lost. No one could make him feel so unsteady like this wild tempest of a man who sat on his bed. Green was his complete opposite, so full of life and passion, even if it was used in the wrong manner. Red had witnessed Green before the world had tainted him, where he’d been an insecure child.

“Why did you do it, Red?” Green finally spoke up, but he still didn’t look at the man near the window. Red let out a heavy breath, finally giving in to the desire to be close to Green. He moved over in his usual slow pace to sit down on the edge of the bed near Green, keeping a bit of space between them for comfort. Red took a moment to process his thoughts and come up with the right answer, it was like walking on thin ice. One wrong step and he would be in cold water. He wanted to tell Green everything would be alright, but even Red wasn’t convinced it would.

‘I wanted to show you that winning isn’t everything.’

Red’s hands moved slowly, taking caution to his words. He didn’t want Green to read his sign language wrong or misinterpreting his words. He wanted to speak out loud, but he wasn’t confident enough in his voice to get his point across. Red eyes shifted, looking over at the auburn haired male who reluctantly had to look over at Red’s hands to get an answer. It only made his frown deepen, revealing he either didn’t understand or didn’t like the answer.

'For a long time, I just wanted you to be happy. I can see now that you aren’t.’

“What do you mean by that? I’m happy, I have everyone’s love and admiration. Everyone knows my name, why wouldn’t I be happy?” Green looked stubborn, closed off to Red. However, Red was far from convinced, especially after that display from last night. Arriving drunk and alone at Red’s doorstep, kissing him and then breaking down into tears wasn’t the sign of a man who was happy.

'You can fool everyone else, Green, but you can’t fool me.’

Well, he had for a while, but Red hadn’t seen him in person for a decade, so he allowed himself that excuse. Green turned his head away from Red as if trying to deny Red’s words, but Red wasn’t going to allow him to escape this time. Green had all the time he needed to try to gain what he desired most and had failed. Red watched as Green’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, likely fighting back the emotions he always kept so bottled up. It was difficult for Red not to draw Green close for a hug, wanting to express himself “Green.” He finally used his rough voice, so soft it was barely above a whisper in his quiet hotel room. It was enough to gain Green’s attention as he turned, wide eyed, to look at Red.

“You’ve tried so hard to gain love and respect from the people around you.” Red slowly raised a hand, growing a bit nervous as his palm finally settled to cup Green’s cheek. His skin was soft, a little kissed from the Alolan sun and so warm against his rougher hand. “But you already had it from the beginning. From me.” Before Red could lose what little confidence he had, he leaned in so he could gently press his lips against Green’s. His heart was pounding in his chest as he kept his touch gentle, in case Green didn’t want to reciprocate the kiss. Red found himself lost in how smooth and soft Green’s lips were, compared to his own chapped ones. It made Red a little embarrassed that he hadn’t cared enough about his lips before this, then again, he hadn’t exactly planned on kissing anyone in his entire life.

After what seemed like eternity, Red pulled away. The kiss had been chaste compared to Green’s sloppy attempt from last night, but it fit. Red only wanted to show Green that he loved and cared about his friend, more than just his body’s desires. While Red was never the best when it came to words, he made sure to put all his subtle emotions and feelings into his actions so there wasn’t the slightest doubt that he felt otherwise. When Red pulled back a little, he opened his eyes to take in the view of Green’s face close to his own. It was a nerve-wracking moment as Red awaited to know the truth, emotions clouded Green’s hazel eyes. The internal struggle he saw going through Green’s expression made him want to pull away, to give Green space to sort everything out.

Before he could, arms encircled over his shoulders and around his neck, trapping him. Red opened his mouth to ask Green what was the matter but he soon found his mouth covered by Green’s. His cheeks stained a soft pink hue from the surprise, his hands reaching out to hold onto Green’s sides as if that would steady him. Once more Red was bearing the brunt of Green’s passion, but this time it wasn’t out of anger or alcohol. With the way Green’s lips moved against his with such smooth movements, it made Red feel a little awkward with his inexperience. Something about Green’s wildness always managed to gain Red’s interest, wanting a small taste of it for himself. When he felt Green’s tongue slide over his chapped lips to soften them, Red felt like his face was going to be on fire.

Before he burnt up from Green’s heated passion, he gently pushed his friend away, not wanting things to go far too fast. Red wanted things to go slow like with everything he did. When Green finally and reluctantly heeded Red’s desires, he pulled away just slightly. Their lips were now only connected by a thin string of saliva, the remnants of their true first kiss. Red was panting softly from his parted lips, his heavy breath finally breaking the string between them but his crimson eyes still held so much for Green. Just seeing Green before him, raw and open with his true desires and yearnings was enough to draw Red in like a moth to flame.Green’s fingers played with a bit of his dark brown hair on the nape of his neck, the gesture was intimate and warming.

“Green.” Red mumbled between breaths, watching those hazel eyes warm like honey at the sound of his name on lips that rarely parted. “I would do anything to make you happy.” Red had willingly sacrificed money, fame, and power to Green. More importantly, Red had sacrificed his own happiness, his love for Green, just to make sure Green achieved his dreams. Now that he knew that Green shared feelings for him, Red wanted to be a part of Green’s dreams and aspirations. He wanted to be there so he could see in person on how Green would smile like he had when they were kids. He wanted that more than anything.

“Is that so? Well… It would make me happy if you said yes to me asking you out on a date.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Red is going to regret those words when Green says that Red wearing a speedo would make him happy.


	10. Crack

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a funny little thing on the side that you guys requested, may or may not be canon later in the story. I couldn’t pass the idea up.

“You said anything, Red.”

Green’s voice continued to remind him every time Red hesitated on their way to the beach, he was definitely regretting saying those words. He should’ve known Green would take advantage of them, ever since they were kids he’d been the bullying type. He should’ve been more careful with his words, fitting an ‘almost’ before the 'anything’ would’ve allowed him some wiggle room. Red was a man of his word and he didn’t want to deal with Green pouting all day just because Red went back on it. Red set down their cooler under a large beach umbrella, he was glad that Green had allowed him to wear shorts and a shirt on their walk over here from their resort. Now that they were on the beach, Green was insistent on getting his way and Red was helpless to deny him.

With a sigh and a roll of his eyes, he reached for the bottom of his shirt, though he stalled a little. Red rarely exposed so much skin, especially in public. He never went out without his shirt and jeans, but now Green was pushing him out of his set ways. Red would be sure to get Green back for this some how, to make him think twice about abusing his power. For now, Green had a hand on his hip, staring at Red with growing impatience. Reluctantly, Red pulled his shirt up and over his head, revealing his pale skin, scars ruined the smoothness but perfection didn’t look good on Red. Red was rugged, a down to earth man who wouldn’t hesitate to get a few bruises and scars if it meant getting the job done and helping Pokemon.

Red shifted his weight from one leg to the other, looking uncomfortable already. He glanced over at Green, who was taking in the view so much that Red could feel warmth creep up into his cheeks. He wasn’t certain if he liked Green looking at his body in such a manner, afraid for the first time in his life that Green wouldn’t like what he saw. Red never actually cared about his appearance, if someone couldn’t accept him for what he looked like in his comfortable attire then he didn’t need to waste time. However, Green always cared about looks, always had nice hair and fashionable clothes. It made Red very aware of how much of a bum he looked like whenever he was standing next to his newly titled boyfriend.

He held the shirt to his chest, trying to hide his scars and skin that never seemed to have seen the light of day. He hadn’t thought about trying to impress anyone since he was a kid, he’d been looked over and ignored for a good portion of his life. Before Red could try to hide away, he felt Green’s hand on his arm to draw his attention back to the other male. Green was smiling, not that arrogant and cocky smile, but a soft one that was reserved just for him. “Stop worrying, Red, I didn’t ask you to be my boyfriend because of your looks.” Green paused before looking down at Red’s body as he gently guided Red’s hands away from covering it. “You having a great bod is just a bonus.” The tease made Red turn his head away, trying to look a little annoyed by Green’s words but his stoic expression was ruined by the light dusting of pink on his cheeks.

“The sun’s going to be down by the time we even get in the water, now hurry up!” Green insisted before stepping back, making Red wish the sun was down so he didn’t have to do this. After draping his shirt over the back of his lounge chair, Red went to work on pulling his red basketball short down. He went quick, like ripping off a band-aid to just get the suffering over with. Casually as he could, he draped the shorts with his shirt, letting Green gawk at the red and white speedos he sorted. They were uncomfortably tight and they exposed so much skin that Red felt that he was practically naked. He had to resist the temptation to reach down to cover his groin up, afraid he might be exposing far too much for human decency. However, Green swatted his hands before he could, making Red give the other male a withering glare.

When he looked at Green, he couldn’t believe what he saw. Green had his phone out and from the sound of a shutter Red knew it was far too late. His face heated to several degrees and he lurched in an attempt to snatch the phone away but Green gracefully danced back. “Oh no you don’t! This is revenge for putting that picture of me eating on Twitter! Guess who’s got a new phone background? This guy.” Green gave Red a taunting grin as he used his thumb to point to himself, making Red groan out as he rubbed his face with one hand. He was never going to hear the end of this and wanted to escape into the ocean as soon as possible.

Before he could step out from under the shade of the umbrella, Green grabbed onto his shoulder to drag him to a stop. “Whoa there, big guy. You’re as white as a ghost and I don’t want to hear you whining about a sunburn.” Red exhaled heavily, usually he remembered to put sunscreen on but he wrote it off this time as worrying about other things. He sat down on the lounge chair, shifting a little from how uncomfortably exposed he felt. Green, however, snatched up the bottle of sunscreen before Red could grab it, already squirting some on his palm. “I’ll make sure you’re covered completely, don’t worry.” Green added when Red looked a little doubtful, but he eventually humored the man and let Green rub the lotion into his skin. It did feel pretty nice, Green’s hands were smooth and soft and they even kneaded a little into the stiff muscles on his neck.

“All done!” Green exclaimed, stirring Red from his near drifting state. Now that he was protected from the sun, he stood up and was desperate to make a run for the ocean. The water would help hide him from prying eyes. He only managed to take a single step before Green had concocted another plan to torture him. “Before we head out to the ocean, can you go get me a drink?” Red pointed glanced down at the cooler he carried, but Green frowned. “I saw you fill that thing up with water bottle and juice boxes, we’re not kids anymore.” Red lofted a brow and looked at Green in a sarcastic manner to imply that he didn’t think Green was mature at all. Green huffed and gave him a shove but Red didn’t budge from the weak attempt. Instead he let out a short exhale, his version of a laugh before heading over to the tiki bar set up on the beach.

That moment of teasing had made him momentarily forget about his current predicament right up until he stood in from of the bar. The bartender didn’t seem to mind or even notice, the guy was likely used to seeing all sorts of swim gear out on the beach. It comforted Red a little, giving him enough courage to point at a picture on the menu. He had no idea what he was ordering since he never actually had alcohol before, so he just picked something that Green might like. Something frozen and fruity for a nice hot day. The tender nodded and turned to make the drink he ordered, since this was a private beach to the resort, all residents had free drinks served to them. Which might’ve been a bad idea for Green after that last fiasco. Red was here though and he wouldn’t let Green get that wasted again.

At the sound of giggling, Red curiously looked over to see a group of girls on the other end of the bar. When they noticed him looking, their laughter increased, serving only to confuse Red further. Maybe he was just reading too much into it, people didn’t notice him. Though, he couldn’t help but notice that as he waited, the group seemed to get closer and closer until one of the bolder girls finally decided to talk to him. He hoped he could avoid a conversation, he didn’t like interacting with people in the first place and conversing with strangers made him panic a little. He couldn’t leave, not without Green’s drink. “You out here alone?” She asked casually, Red felt his heart beat quickly in his chest. He didn’t want to be rude by shaking his head but he didn’t want to speak either. He stared down at the girl, who was unaware of the mental breakdown Red was about to have.

Luckily, Green seemed to move in to save the day, feeling his arm move to rest so casually over Red’s shoulders. Sometimes it amazed Red to see Green move without hesitation. He sighed out and looked away, Green could handle this, leaving Red to sort out his flustered thoughts again.

“Hey, ladies, enjoying the nice weather today?” Green’s voice was cheerful and pleasant, his usual flirty tone. It was hard to feel jealous when Green said those things when his arm was wrapped over Red’s shoulders. There was no mistaking that gesture, a subtle hint that Green and Red were more than just friends. Red was relieved, he didn’t want to hurt the girls’ feelings. Instead they seemed to glance between the two of them before become even more energetic and interested. Red moved a little, trying to hide himself behind Green. His boyfriend seemed to understand the small signs, moving closer to Red, hiding him between the bar and himself as he drew the attention towards himself. Red didn’t listen much to them, mostly just the light tone of Green’s voice, hearing him laugh. Red could tell he was happy, especially when he would occasionally glance over at Red, making sure Red was comfortable.

When the tender finally handed Green his drink, Red straightened up from the bar and prepared to leave. Green waved at the girls before following after Red with a drink in one hand, but what he did next was something Red didn’t expect. Despite being in public, Green whipped his free hand around to give Red a smack right on the spandex clad ass of his. The girls behind them squealed with laughter, joined in by Green’s.

Red wanted to just bury himself in the sand and hope one of the sandcastle Pokemon would end his embarrassment.


	11. The Date

After about thirty minutes into their journey, Green finally stopped complaining. Red had promised Green a date, but Green should’ve realized that Red wasn’t the normal kind of guy who would take his partner out to a nice restaurant or a movie. While he wanted to impress green, he also wanted to show his childhood friend what he could offer. Red wasn’t going to put up a front, to pretend he’d enjoy the closed in buildings and crowded tables where other people were holding their own conversations. It was just too much for Red, he wanted peace and quiet, maybe not too quiet since he was taking Green with him. And the spiky haired male was anything but quiet. but it also reminded Red that he wasn’t alone. Not anymore, hopefully.

Red had taken them out of the town, away from the civilized world where he could allow Green to just be himself. He wasn’t sure how long Green could just relax and not put up this facade that convinced everyone that he was a self-confident man with no insecurities. In one of Red’s hands was a portable cooler he had filled with their lunches and drinks. It made him feel a bit nostalgic, the sun and clear skies with just the two of them. Back when they were kids and Green would drag him out on their small adventures, Red’s mom would always pack them lunch and they would spend all day out in the wild expanse of land surrounding Pallet Town. Red wanted to remind Green what it was like to just stop and relax every so often.

“Where are we going,Red?” Green asked for was likely the third time in the past five minutes, Red could only heave a amused sigh and shake his head. He wanted it to be a surprise as he climbed up the rocky slope, though he could already hear the sound of waves crashing against rocks. Once Red finally made it to the top, having made their way through winding outcroppings and narrow canyons to reach a secluded spot covered in grass. While Green paused to admire the view before him, Red made his way to the lone tree that would provide them shade for their picnic. Stretched out before them was the ocean, the sun hitting the water to make the waves give off a sparkle. The wind off the ocean kept the tropical heat at bay, offering a nice place to sit and eat lunch.

As he set down his cooler, Pikachu jumped off his shoulder, already running up to Green’s legs. Not that Pikachu tolerated Green, but he was more interested in calling down Eevee from her trainer’s shoulders. Unlike Pikachu’s eager and reckless jump from his trainer’s shoulders, Eevee waited until Green set her down on the ground so she could play with the yellow rodent. In the meantime Red began setting everything up, which didn’t require much effort. Since they would be eating without a table, Red had kept lunch fairly simple. Sandwiches, fruit salad, and bottles of water, all kept cool by packs of ice. While it was likely nothing Green was used to when he went out on dates, Red felt that it was the sentiment that really mattered here.

Red sat down on the grass, turning his head to look over at Green who had only moved a little closer but he was staring out at the ocean. While Green admired the view Red had picked out, Red took the moment to admire Green in turn. Not too long ago Red thought he’d never see Green again and would never be a part of his busy lifestyle. Now that Green was giving Red another shot, Red wasn’t certain if he could let Green slip through his fingers again without Red coming out damaged in the end. It was just a risk he’d have to take, a moment of love and happiness, no matter how fleeting, would be worth it in the long run. So while he had the chance, he would soak up the moment, to emblazoning it in his memory. While he didn’t particularly like the idea of thinking about the idea of Green leaving him, Red had already felt Green’s absence once, so he couldn’t get that worry out of his mind.

He didn’t realize he was staring until Green turned his head to catch him in the act. That familiar teasing grin making those hazel eyes light up in a way that made Red’s heart flutter a bit. Embarrassed at being caught and not wanting Green to point out his warming cheeks, Red ducked his head, using the brim of his hat as a way to hide, He busied himself with pulling out the plastic container with their sandwiches out, hearing Green walk over and sit on the grass next to him. Finally, Green broke the silence between them, taking a bottle of water out from the cooler. “I should’ve expected this would be your idea of a date.”

Red looked up, Green didn’t seem at all sarcastic about his words, despite the way they could’ve been taken. Instead, Green sounded a little surprised and pleased with it, putting Red’s nerves a bit at ease. Red nodded and opened the plastic container, pulling out a triangle of a sliced sandwich to offer it to Green. The auburn haired male reached out and took it from him, but not before the briefest touch of his fingertips brushing against his own. Red felt a little warmth flood in his chest, not knowing that even such a small touch could feel so intimate. Scarlet eyes flicked up, curious to see if Green had the same reaction, spotting a light dusting of pink on his cheeks. Red hoped that was from him, not wanting to be the only hesitant fool in this date.

“Do you often take people on dates like this, Red?” Green inquired, looking casual, Red couldn’t really get a read on him as he pulled out the other half of the sandwich for himself. Red simply shook his head at Green’s question, thinking that would be enough of an answer. Green didn’t seem to think so as he pressed for more, which only gathered Red’s curiosity. “So you’ve taken people out on dates before?” This served to make Red sigh out as he took a bite of his food, making Green wait since he knew where this line of questioning was going. Since they were alone, he felt comfortable talking, but even then, he barely raised his voice. This made Green really have to listen in over the distant cries of Wingulls.

“This is my first date.”

Green looked over at him as if he didn’t quite believe it, then it seemed the pieces finally fell into place. At least some of them, since Red had always been the loner type and no one went out of their way to know Red like Green had when they were younger. After Green left to follow his dreams, Red closed up even further. Only his care and love for Pokemon kept him in society, wanting to do something to benefit Pokemon and helping Professor Oak was a good way to do that. Green, on the other hand, had dates and even Red knew that. When he first met Green in Alola, he had a girl on his arm. From what Red had seen on TV, Green always seemed to have a different girl on his arm every other week it seemed. Red could only hope he wasn’t one of those flavors of the month for Green, while Green had come clean about his sexuality to Red, he hadn’t to the public.

It made Red wonder about why Green even bothered keeping up such a facade, the girls clearly thought Green was interested in them. If that was so, there was other things Green could’ve identified with. Red wasn’t exactly knowledgeable in sexuality, he hadn’t even really explored his own. Red took another bite of his sandwich, staring out at the ocean, this place really was beautiful once he escaped the hustle and bustle of the tourism. Green was quiet for a while, causing Red to look over at him in concern but only to find Green seemed to be content in the silence for once. Red glanced away, fighting back a subtle smile on his lips so Green wouldn’t see. Red sat up a little more, pointing out at the waves.

“Its about time, watch.” He said, his soft voice drawing Green in, wondering what Red was pointing at. It took a moment, but suddenly the water parted, revealing a Mantine leaping from one of the waves, soon followed by another and another. Across the sunlit waters, the spray of sea waves announced the flock of Mantine leaping out of the water. They seemed to be enjoying themselves from their cheerful cries. Soon a few brave Mantyke joined their adult counterparts in the play, testing the way it felt to have air under their wings. Green gasped and leaned forward, unaware his hand fell to rest on top of Red’s, drawing Red’s attention. He’d already seen this magnificent sight in his research on the Pokemon here, but watching Green enjoy himself. Truly enjoy himself, was a rare opportunity Red didn’t want to miss.

Without Green letting on, he made sure to take a picture of him. This one he would keep just for himself.


	12. Chapter 12

As the sun began to set over the tropical waters of Alola, Red felt like he had achieved a good first date. Out here alone with Green, his friend could be himself, he didn’t need to worry about what others thought of him. Red had always accepted Green for who he truly was, something not many people got to see. Green wasn’t perfect by any means, no one really was. The way Green had been living though had to change, it just wasn’t healthy. Red paused in packing away the remains of their lunch, looking over at Green who was completely unguarded. He was busy talking about some of the most exciting battles he’d gone through, it didn’t take much to see he was enjoying himself. It had been far too long since Red had seen that sort of excitement and happiness in his eyes, back when they were kids talking about their future.

The future hadn’t exactly turned out what they thought it would, there were regrets and things Red could’ve done to make things better. However, he was here in the present with Green, he had a chance to bring Green back into his life. Something had to give though, Red wasn’t one for publicity, for crowds of people. Green was, he loved the limelight and Red didn’t want to take that away from him. There had to be some sort of gray area where he and Green could both be happy. He knew he likely already had his face plastered all over the internet from the battle with Green, he was already dreading going back to the civilized world. The man who defeated the legendary champion Green, a mystery. He didn’t really use the internet that often, only to post pictures of Pikachu and Eevee. He had used Pikachu to fight against Eevee in the battle though, even if it was earlier on before the crowds grew.

“Green.” He finally spoke when Green paused for a breath, drawing his friend’s attention as it was the first word Red had said in a while. Red would nod or make a small sound of thought at Green’s one-sided conversation, only to show he was listening. “Have you ever thought about taking a break?”

Green looked a bit surprised by the question, looking over at Red to see if he was serious but as usual Red’s face was impassive. Green turned to face the ocean once more, the sunset bringing out the golden hues in his hazel eyes. “Not really, I never had a reason to. I’ve traveled to so many regions, seen everything I could. Everywhere I go, someone recognizes me. There’s always someone who wants to take on the Kanto Champion, wanting to prove their worth. I can’t really turn them down either, it’d look bad on me. I thought working at the Battle Tree would change it up a little, this place is a tropical paradise. Its the same thing over and over again, just a different scenery. Not to mention I have to stay strong and cocky, because people will prey on your weakness. I’m not sure why, maybe to feel better about themselves to belittle someone who’s popular?”

Green sighed and tossed a bit of grass he’d been plucking away from him, looking almost defeated by the weight of it all. “I thought I’d like having all that attention, but after a while it just got to the point where people only liked me at face value. They expect me to be perfect, I’m scared that if I make one mistake that they’ll all hate me for it and leave.” Red tilted his head a bit, for him it didn’t go over his head to know what Green was getting at. Reaching over, Red placed a hand over Green’s, offering comfort from just a single touch. His hands were rough and calloused from hard work dealing with Pokemon, a stark contrast to Green’s smoother skin. It made Red think that Green was almost fragile in a way, all it took was one tap and he’d shatter. As Green’s best friend, he felt responsible and he wanted to make sure Green would be able to enjoy life as Red did.

“Take a break. Spend some time away with me, we can go on adventures like we did when we were little.” Red offered hopefully, he was an adult know but that didn’t mean he couldn’t enjoy exploring a little. It also followed along with his research as well, so all around it would be a win-win. Though he wasn’t certain if he could really study the Pokemon here when he most likely would be paying more attention to Green.

“But what about you, Red? What if people come up and crowd us? I know you don’t like people getting too close.” Green looked concerned, the way he gazed over at Red made his heart race a little. It was silly, to feel such a thing, but just a small concern like that from Green made him feel light and warm.

“We won’t stay long in populated areas. Pokemon like the wild areas.” He reassured with a nod of his head, already he had the perfect spot in mind he wanted to take Green. There weren’t a lot of people there, since the island had a lot of strong Pokemon and not a lot of tourist attractions. Already, Red felt excitement for this adventure with Green, it was more exciting when he had to someone to share the adventure with. As kids, Green had always ran off ahead of him, always in a rush to become better. Now, there was nothing that would make Green run off ahead of him and hopefully, his friend would stay by his side.

“Well, if we’re going to go mostly off the radar, we can’t stay at the resort. People will be wanting answers after that public display you put on.” Green frowned as he was reminded of that defeat, when he was younger, it might’ve upset him. Now that he was older, it didn’t hurt that bad, it was almost sort of a relief. No longer did he have the weight of being undefeated, Red had been the one to do it too.

“What do you have in mind then?” Red queried, he didn’t have enough money to afford another hotel, so it would be all up to Green. He didn’t like relying on others for money, but in this situation, he didn’t have a choice. He’d sacrifice pride just so he could spend more time with Green.

“Well, I’m not staying in a two-bit motel, I might have been defeated but I still have standards.” Green brushed a hand over his chest, smoothing out his black silk button up shirt, drawing Red’s gaze for a moment. “So we’ll just have to rent a beach house. A place just for ourselves, it’ll be like camping all over again!”

“Its not camping if you stay in a house and not a tent.” Red pointed out, a bit of amusement in his eyes. “Last time you got scared and we had to pack up and go back home. And we were just in your backyard.”

“Hey! You don’t know what could’ve been out there! It might’ve been a ghost!” Green exclaimed, looking defensive once more now that Red pointed out the fact he’d been scared. Red couldn’t help but to laugh softly under his breath, making Green fold his arms in that stubborn, but cute sort of way. Red pushed himself up onto his feet and dusted his worn out jeans from grass, then hefting up the lighter cooler now. Once everything was situated, he offered a hand towards Green, who looked like he wasn’t going to take it for a moment. Eventually, he reached out and grabbed Red’s hand, pulling himself up onto his feet and dusted his green capris off with one hand.

As they made their way back to the resort, Red didn’t dare to comment about the fact that Green hadn’t let go of his hand.


	13. Chapter 13

The beach house was nice, Red should’ve known that Green would’ve gone all out to find the best of the best. Red would’ve been just fine camping out near the beach, but Green insisted he needed a proper shower and to skinny dip in natural springs like Red suggested. Green had appeared to be a mixture of being flustered and shocked that Red would suggest such a thing, making Red assume that Green’s hair was worth spending money on. As long as he wasn’t emptying out his pockets then he really didn’t have much to complain about. The small house on the beach was nice, secluded and decorated in bright, beach-y colors. He’d never seen houses painted so brightly other than on the beach, likely because they didn’t fit in anywhere else.

The interior was all tile, probably because it was easier to clean the sand off of and it was cool during the daily heat. What Red liked most about it was the multitude of windows, some were even floor to ceiling and it opened the place up greatly, leaving Red feeling less claustrophobic. Now all Red had to concern himself over was the fact he was staying in a house with Green. Alone. He never thought he’d ever get a chance to be in Green’s presence while the other man was able to just be himself. While he felt like their first date had gone fairly well, Red had no idea what he was doing and perhaps doing some research would offer him some clues on how to continue to keep Green with him.

Green had always been a bit adventurous, never wanting to stay too long in one place for too long and most would assume he was an independent spirit. However, Red knew that Green preferred to have company, or else he wouldn’t have pulled Red after him in all their adventures as children. Green wanted to share experiences with someone, not just to have attention on him. It made Red wonder if he was still capable of keeping up after Green, he had a tough time with flying and not to mention the anxiety and panic he felt being trapped in a crowd of people closing in around him. Green was famous, he was used to dealing with the crowds and all the attention. Red couldn’t help but to feel a bit inadequate to be the right person for Green, but he did know he had to make sure his friend was taking care of himself and a bit of a vacation away from his lifestyle might help.

Currently, Red was sitting at a small desk in their shared bedroom, there was only one room with two separate beds in it. Red shouldn’t think much about sharing a personal space with Green, they used to spend the night at each others’ houses all the time as kids. The only difference here was that they were no longer kids and they had kissed, he always thought kissing was odd. What was so special about pressing lips together, but for some reason he liked it and couldn’t keep himself from thinking about it. He brushed his fingertips over his lower lip in thought, distracting himself from typing up a paper with his findings recently. He was still working despite how much of a dream it was starting to feel like these days. His daydreaming was interrupted by the ringing of his laptop. Jerking a bit in surprise, he looked down at the screen to see that Professor Oak was calling him.

With a soft exhale, Red answered and a video feed popped up to reveal old man Oak in his lab from the looks of it. He had a stern scowl on his face and Red couldn’t blame him, Red had just up and left the resort without much of an explanation. “Red! I see you’re okay, but where are you? The Resort called and said you cancelled the rest of your stay. I know its not like you, so I was worried.”

Red looked guiltily away, wanting to reach up to adjust his hat, but the article of clothing was tossed on his bed with his suitcase. Red lifted up his hands to signed to the camera on the top of his laptop so Professor oak could see.

‘I’m fine. Needed to go somewhere more secluded for work.’

Professor oak frowned impossibly deeper, the man leaned trying to peer past Red’s bulk to see where the younger man was currently residing. Professor Oak appeared to be about to say something when the sound of a door opening interrupted them, Red turned his head to spy Green walking out of the bathroom. Which wasn’t good for several reasons, Red hadn’t warned Green that he was in a call with the man’s grandfather. Green and the Professor weren’t on speaking terms, Red wanted the two to reconcile eventually, but not like this. Not over video call and definitely not while Green was just wearing a towel about his waist.

Before he could lift a hand to cover the camera of his laptop, Green walked into view as the other male dug into one of his many suitcases on his bed. “Hey Red, hope you weren’t planning on showering soon, I used up all the hot water.” It was too late, Red could see exactly what was going on through Professor Oak’s mind through the visible expressions on the man’s wrinkled and worn face. Red sank his face into his hands to hide the growing embarrassment, how was he going to explain that?! He would’ve preferred not to tell Oak until further on, afraid that the professor would get the wrong idea that he wasn’t taking his job seriously if he was staying with Green.

“Green?!” The old man barked out finally once he recovered from his shock, making Green suddenly tense up in surprise at hearing his grandfather’s voice.Green looked around as if expecting to see is grandfather in the room for a moment before looking over at Red. Then realization dawned over Green’s face when he noticed an equally shocked grandfather on the screen. Green was caught off guard but this unexpected event and Red was hopeless to save him from this. “What are you doing with Red? He’s supposed to be working and he doesn’t need you distracting him. Were you the reason Red left the Resort?”

The rapid fire questions were making even Red a little dizzy and this line of questioning was not a great start to trying to reunite the two, it was the complete opposite. Red knew Professor Oak loved his grandson, but Green hadn’t met the professor’s expectations. Green was his own person and hadn’t wanted to continue his grandfather’s work. Even Red had known that when he’d been just a kid, Green wasn’t meant for a life of being in a lab and writing papers. If only Oak had realized that before things had gotten so bad that Red wondered if it could ever be fixed. Green’s eyes darkened, stormy as he glared at the computer screen and was about to open his mouth for a snippy remark until Red slammed the laptop shut. Red didn’t want to listen to this again, having heard Green and his grandfather fight constantly when they were kids.

“Hey! I wasn’t done with that old asshole!” Green shouted, turning that anger onto Red, needing to let it out on someone and Red was the unlucky person.

“Yes. You were.” Red said softly before pushing himself up onto his feet, walking over to Green who looked like he had more to say. Red wouldn’t accept this, wouldn’t allow Green to lash out at everything around him after being wounded by one of his remaining family members.Red didn’t know how Green felt like exactly, Red’s own mother had been kind and gentle, had even shown a motherly attitude towards Green. Red raised a hand up, his touch gentle as he curled it around the back of Green’s neck to simple hold him still as he leaned in. Red’s lips pressed lightly against Green’s, showing him soft affection that he knew Green yearned for deep down. The warm kiss was chaste and brief but it was only meant to soothe Green’s ire before Red rested his forehead against Green’s. They were quiet for a moment, letting the silence stretch between them as they gazed into each other’s eyes.

Nothing needed to be said, their was a certain understanding between them, a connection. Finally, the corners of Red’s lips curled up slightly, softening the stoic look on his face. Red promised himself that one day he would try to repair the damage between Green and his grandfather, but right now they needed to explore what was between them first. One task at a time and he didn’t want Green to stress out when they were supposed to be relaxing. Red wanted to enjoy his time with Green and vice versa. Which reminded him of what Green had asked before all of this and the fact Green was still in just a towel. Feeling his cheeks warm a little, Red quickly pulled away, too aware and uncomfortable.

“I’ll make us dinner tonight, you get dressed in the meantime.”


	14. Honeymooners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Just but... lazy? Lack of motivation? Abducted by aliens?

There was a loud banging noise that echoed through the small beach house and only Green seemed to be disturbed by it. He glared over at the still slumbering Red who appeared could sleep through a marching band, though it was unusual for Red not to be the first one to be awake in the morning. Red tended to have a strict schedule for the day and never missed out on training himself and his Pokemon, today it seemed their roles were reversed. For a while, Green hoped the knocking would just go away if he ignored it long enough, but no such luck. Not even pinning a pillow over his head seemed to muffled the sound, so finally the Kanto Champion finally gave up trying to go back to sleep. Annoyed at Red for still managing to be wistfully asleep, he tossed the pillow at him, but it seemed to be ineffective against the sleeping male.

Green rolled out of bed, raking his fingers through his hair in some attempt to tame the wild strands, he’d style it later whenever he was more awake. Right now, he just wanted to deal with that annoying noise as he slipped on his house shoes and pulled on a nice tropical robe to keep him from walking around in his boxers. Muttering a few choice words under his breath, Green made his way down the hall, tracking down the sound towards the front door of the house. Who in Arceus’ name would be knocking on his door at… He checked the time on the stove, five in the morning? Growling out under his breath, he unlocked the door and yanked it open in a show of annoyance. He gave his best trademark glare as his hazel eyes landed on none other than the last person he wanted to see at five-fucking-in-the-morning.

Gold.

The kid ( Green would always think of Gold as a kid it didn’t matter if the boy was twenty years old by now, he didn’t act like it ) rapped his knuckles against Green’s face, apparently unaware the door had opened until Green made an indignant noise and swatted his hand away.

“What the hell are you doing here, Gold? Matter of fact, why are you here ruining my beauty sleep!” Snapped Green, he wasn’t a morning person and never would be. He could tolerate Gold after at least he had a cup of coffee, not before.

“Whoa! Hey, Green! And boy, you sure do need your beauty sleep with hair like that!” Gold teased back, immune by now of Green’s angry nature, or just too optimistic to really be brought down by it. “I just wanted to swing on by since we just arrived!”

“Sorry for the intrusion, Green. I tried to stop him, but… You know how he gets.” A voice, smooth and cool as he remembered came from behind Gold. It was no Surprise that Silver would be with Gold, the two were inseparable, good thing too as Silver was level headed, but a tad too serious at times, easily frustrated. They seemed to work well together, even though their personalities differed from Green and Red, he couldn’t help but to find similarities within them. It was when Gold had come to challenge him years after Green had become champion that Gold had reminded him of Red… A louder one. But that confidence, that complete trust and faith in his Pokemon. It was all the same.

Green sighed out, no use arguing now since the two were here, he opened the door a little wider to invite them in. “Might as well come in, but don’t expect me to cook you two breakfast, I’m not your mom.” Gold’s mom was definitely a sweetheart, but Green was not into pampering Gold like she did. Gold was more than happy to walk in, wearing a gaudy yellow floral shirt the tourist around here wore. It was had to remind himself that Gold was the Johto Champion, it was only during the heat of battle could one really see the heart of the Champion. Gold made a beeline for the fridge, making himself at home and trying to find something for Breakfast.

Silver entered at a more reserved pace, though the black uniform with a red fringe that he wore was in direct contrast with the Alola vibrancy. Green figured it wouldn’t last long in this hot weather, but he had to give Silver props for looking nice. “I even insisted we go get breakfast first, but not even the thought of trying new food could deter him.” Silver looked over to Gold, letting out a heavy exhale before brushing a strand of loose, long red hair out of his face. Green studied the shorter boy for a moment, there was less tension in the corners of his eyes which was good.

“So what are you two doing in Alola anyways? Signing up for the Battle Tree?” Green asked curiously as he made his way over to the coffee maker to turn it on, there was no going back to sleep after this.

“We’re on our honeymoon!” Gold nearly shouted, making Green wince and dig a pinky into his ear. He looked to Gold and then to Silver, who had his face in one hand.

“Gold, we’d have to be married to be on a honeymoon.” Silver sounded a little exasperated by there was some sort of humor in his red eyes. “Well, I guess he’s not half wrong.”

“I proposed to him,” Gold chimed in. “Should’ve seen his face, Green, it was as red as his hair. It was priceless.”

“He proposed to me while I was in the middle of battling him. He’s lucky that weavile didn’t freeze him solid.” Silver moved over to take a seat at the small table, there were only two chairs and Green hadn’t thought he’d be receiving visitors here. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Gold and Silver had just dropped getting engaged so casually at five in the morning while Green was still in his boxers. Gold never really had a thing for tact as the black haired boy was pulling out a jug of orange juice from the ice box, Green had to swat Gold upside the head before Gold could drink straight from the jug.

Before Green could insist on using a glass, one was set gently down on the counter before Gold. Red, like a wrath had at some point entered the kitchen without making a noise, making both Gold and Green jump, combined with a startled noise that Green wasn’t proud of. Gold’s eyes were wide as he looked up at Red, locking gazes with those unreadable burnished amber eyes. The kitchen fell silent, Gold was stunned for a moment by the stranger who wore am intimidating expression, Gold was normally good at getting a read on people, no matter what walls they hid behind. Green’s panic didn’t last long as he was the first one into action, moving between Gold and Red.

More importantly, blocking the fact that Red was still in his Pikachu patterned boxer briefs and nothing else.

Green’s motion seemed to snap Gold out of his surprise and Green was instantly flooded with a thousand questions. “Hey! Who is that! Green, you didn’t tell us that you were here with someone else! I’ve never seen him before? I thought you only liked girls! Why didn’t you tell us that you liked guys too! Oh man, I would’ve invited you to all the clubs we’ve gone to. What’s his name? Where did you meet him? Come on, Green, spill the beans, man!”

Green felt like he was going to get a headache at this rate, Silver looked just as surprised but seemed polite enough not to dig especially since Gold was doing that enough for the both of them.First his grandfather and now these two? It wasn’t going to be long until rumors would start to spread because Gold couldn’t keep a secret to save his life. The guy was far too honest, which was a good trait in most cases, just not this one. “Gold, I like you, kid, but please can we discuss this after I’ve had coffee?”

Gold was about to reply, likely to protest but a glass of orange juice was shoved into his hands. Red had poured him a drink before pointing over to the table in a silent command. Momentarily quelled, but likely not for long, Gold retreated to the table beside Silver. Green rubbed his forehead as the thought of trying to explain this situation was going to be difficult, for he didn’t even know what the hell he was doing. The soft press of lips on the corner of his lips drew him back from the downward spiral he had been drawn into. Lifting his hazel eyes to spot Red looking at him. Others might think Red was a detached man, but Green could see the truth behind that gaze.

There was confidence in Green, reassurance that Red would be there if needed, and more importantly, love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time writing Gold and Silver so uh… excuse while I get the feel of the characters.


	15. The Wedding

Red reached up to tug at the gold tie for what seemed like the hundredth time today, only to have it swatted away by Gold. The younger boy wasn’t much better as he’d been playing with his gold cuff links just as much. Over the past couple of weeks, Red had grown used to Gold and Silver’s presence, since the two wanted Green to be a part of the wedding, which was understandable. Red had found out that despite Green’s outwardly selfish nature, he had helped Gold and Silver out numerous times over the years. It was surprising since he’d never seen either of them with Green on TV, though he had heard about Gold winning the Johto region championship and going up against Green in Kanto as well. The first thing Gold had done was challenge Red to a Pokemon battle, it seemed the younger male judged people on the way they fought with their Pokemon. Red had understood.

Red had won the first battle, but Gold was persistent, demanding battle after battle despite the fact he was supposed to be helping Silver and Green plan his wedding. There wasn’t deterring Gold for long though, despite the looks he received from Silver. Eventually Red simply gave in and held back, just like he’d done with Green so long ago. Gold was an exceptional battler, so Red didn’t have to hold out by much. However, that hadn’t solved it at all as Gold continued to want to battle regardless of winning, claiming fighting Red had been intense and fun. It was like a kid wanting to go back on a rollercoaster over and over again, tiring Red out. Regardless, Red had a growing fondness for the kid, the way he treated his Pokemon and everyone around him with kindness, the way just having him around where he had a smile that could make feel one happy just being in the same room with him. Red could understand why Silver had fallen in love with the crazy kid.

It was still a bit of a surprise when Gold asked him to be his best man, claiming he really didn’t have anyone else and he didn’t want to have to resort to asking Professor Elm. Red glanced out, there were only a few people here, any more and Red wasn’t certain if he could take standing up in front of a bunch of strangers. His toes curled into the sand, the warmth was comforting. He was glad that Gold and Silver decided to get married on the beach, with the open air letting Red relax a little, the distant cry of the wingulls joining the steady crash of the waves. Red couldn’t imagine a better setting, though he’d never thought about marriage or even attending one. The whole planning phase had been stressful and he wasn’t even a big part of it, just watching Silver and Green looking at different color palettes, flowers, and suits was enough to drain Red completely.

What was worse, Red hadn’t seen Green all day, his… boyfriend had been hidden off with Silver in the beach house Gold and Silver had rented for the wedding. It was still odd to think that Green was his boyfriend, but there wasn’t any other way to put it, the kissing, the dates, the way Green looked at him. It had been obvious to both Silver and Gold, though Gold was a lot more verbal with ribbing Green about his secret boyfriend. Regardless, the younger pair seemed happy, Silver admitting to him that it was the first time in a long time that he’d seen Green happy, really happy. There was no covering up his true feelings, trying to pretend that he didn’t have flaws when Red accepted him as is. Something that Green wasn’t really used to if Red recalled everything from their childhood. Too bad Red hadn’t seen it too clearly then, maybe he could’ve done more.

“Is my suit in place?” Gold interrupted his thoughts, drawing Red’s gaze to the white suit. Like the boy’s namesake, the white tuxedo had a gold trim and a gold vest, it wasn’t the garish sort of gold, more toned down to compliment the soft hues of the wedding. Gold even seemed to have somehow managed to tame his hair with some inexperienced help from Red. Between the two, he figured they looked presentable for the big day. Red simply gave Gold a reassuring nod, still having spoken a single word to the other boy yet but Gold seemed insistent to learn sign language instead of just using their phones to text each other.

Before Red could adjust his gold tie again, music began to play, it wasn’t overbearing and fit more to go with the natural music of Alola. Silver and Green seemed to pull through on making everything blend in smoothly.Gold seemed to grow increasingly nervous as he fidgeted while they stood at the alter waiting for Silver to come down the aisle. From what he’d been told, Silver and his father didn’t get along very well, so Green had accepted as a stand in to walk Silver instead. Red could feel his own excitement grow, he hadn’t seen Green yet today, wondering how he would look in a suit.

And yet, nothing could’ve braced Red for the moment the doors to the beach house opened.

Green was first to step out and hold the door open, his suit was matching to Red’s except where Red had gold accents, Green had silver. Though both had more white while the two grooms had their more obvious color with their vests and ties., the bottoms of their white slacks rolled up to the middle of their calves to leave their feet exposed to the soft sand. Green looked stunning, his hair soft and his eyes bright, the music faded under the sound of his own heart beating loudly in his ears. He was so entranced by how the suit fit him perfectly, accented his features, brought out the elegant beauty and handsome charm that mixed together into a sight that would be branded in his memory. He hadn’t even realized Silver had stepped out, didn’t hear the soft gasp from Gold beside him.

Silver had all his hair down, the silky red strands having just the slightest wave to it while one side was pinned out of his face with a silver hairpin that was simple in design and yet stood out brilliantly in the sea of scarlet. Silver had a regal air with him in the silver and white suit, but when those red eyes fell onto Gold, his step faltered a moment. Luckily, Green had Silver’s arm looped in the crook of his elbow, keeping him steady and on course. Red swallowed a little, growing nervous as he watched Green walk down the aisle with Silver. Was this what it would be like to marry the person you loved? Everything seemed to melt away until there was nothing other than the one who owned his heart.

Before he knew it Green was standing before him, making Red remember that he needed to breathe. Didn’t help that Green gave a small, teasing little grin he was known for, making Red believe what he’d been feeling was written all over his face for once.Green turned his gaze to the Island Kahuna, making Red follow after to be respectful and not just stare at Green the entire time. The Kahuna was a woman with warm mocha skin who seemed down to earth even for being a leader and who seemed to adore Red’s Pikachu. Red couldn’t make out what she was saying, he had to keep reminding himself that this wasn’t a dream and no he wasn’t marrying Green. They hadn’t even discussed that, hadn’t even talked about what their relationship really was. Would Green go back to his life once the tropical vacation was over? What would Red do?

When the Kahuna told the grooms to kiss, Red looked over to Green and then down to the bare finger on the other male’s hand. He’d never understood the concept of marriage, why there needed to be such a big ceremony, why someone had to wear a ring. Now though, now that he felt drawn in by Green, had witnessed a wedding first hand. He wanted it, not right now, but it was an idea lingering in his mind now.He heard laughter and sounds of protest, then Gold carrying Silver in his arms strolled past him. It broke that dreamlike daze Red had been in, making the whole ceremony a bit of a blur and leaving Red standing there lost and feeling a little disappointed that it was over already. That he’d gone without a kiss.

“Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” He heard Green’s voice teasing him, making Red pull a slight scowl. Green laughed and Red felt his hand being caught in Green’s, causing Red to look back at him. “Let’s ditch the party, I know you don’t like parties anyways.” Green tugged at Red’s hand, this time taking the lead. Red followed after Green, reminding him of their youth, before things got so complicated where Green would hold his hand and drag him off to some mini-adventure would would ultimately get them in trouble.

He just wondered what sort of trouble Green would get him into this time.


End file.
